GSK sees blockbuster potential in targeted cancer therapy after promising early data

By Bhanvi Satija

LONDON, April ‌12 (Reuters) - British drugmaker ​GSK's ​experimental targeted cancer drug Mo-rez has blockbuster potential, its head of oncology research has told reporters, after early data ‌showed the drug helped shrink tumors in patients with advanced, ⁠hard-to-treat cancers.

"This is one of our priority assets at this stage," GSK's Hesham Abdullah ‌said on a call with ‌journalists discussing the early data, which is being presented at a medical conference in Puerto Rico on Sunday.

"Do we think it would ​be a blockbuster? Yes, absolutely," GSK's Hesham Abdullah said on the call.

Initial results measured the proportion of patients who achieved a meaningful ⁠reduction in tumor size, defined as at least a 30% shrinkage. In platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, ​62% of patients met that threshold, while 67% did so in endometrial cancer.

DATA GIVE MOMENTUM TO GSK'S ONCOLOGY BUSINESS

Analysts ​have not yet projected future sales for ‌mo-rez given early trial data.

The data give momentum to GSK's fast-growing oncology business. CEO Luke Miels, who started ⁠in the role in January, has said the company will speed up work on new medicines, a shift Abdullah said is already being reflected in its ⁠product development.

"I think it has been reflected in the type of pace that ​you are seeing and the type of conviction that we have in our programmes moving forward," he added.

GSK is testing Mo-rez in two late-stage trials in ovarian ‌and endometrial cancers and plans to start three additional studies in coming months.

Mo-rez, an antibody‑drug conjugate, targets the ‌B7H4 protein found on gynaecological cancer cells but is largely absent from ⁠healthy tissue. The market for ‌ADC treatments is projected ​to reach $31 billion by 2030.

GSK licensed the drug from China's Hansoh Pharma in 2023.

(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija; Editing by ‌David Holmes)

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