Global Blood Therapeutics initially focusing on indications with significant unmet need, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in which hypoxia is believed to play a key role in disease pathogenesis and adverse patient outcomes. These are conditions in which the lungs cannot supply adequate oxygen to the blood. While supplemental oxygen therapy is a well-established lifesaving treatment in acute and chronic hypoxemic conditions, it is associated with a number of risks, including injury or infection as a result of intubation. This highlights a significant unmet medical need which we believe can be addressed with a drug that improves oxygen uptake and delivery without the risks associated with supplemental oxygen delivery.