By Bhanvi Satija and Prerna Bedi
July 10 (Reuters) – GSK said on Friday that partner Hansoh Pharmaceutical’s experimental drug for advanced small-cell lung cancer met its main goal of improving survival in a late-stage trial, delivering an early boost to GSK’s bet on the therapy.
GSK, which holds rights to the drug outside China, is accelerating development of the treatment, known as ris-rez, along with mo-rez, another experimental therapy licensed from Hansoh that it believes also has blockbuster potential.
The British drugmaker is seeking to rebuild its oncology portfolio and broaden its focus beyond blood and gynaecological treatments into areas such as lung and prostate cancer under new CEO Luke Miels.
Last month, GSK agreed to buy U.S. cancer drug developer Nuvalent for $10.6 billion in its biggest ever deal.
In the China-based ARTEMIS-008 trial, ris-rez delivered “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” improvements in overall survival compared with the standard chemotherapy topotecan.
Secondary goals, including progression-free survival, also showed consistent benefits, with no new safety signals, Hansoh said. The Chinese drugmaker, which retains rights to ris-rez in mainland China, plans to seek regulatory approval in the country soon.
“These results are an important milestone,” said Hesham Abdullah, GSK’s global head of oncology R&D, adding that the findings support the drug’s potential across lung cancer and other solid tumours.
Data from GSK’s global late-stage trial in relapsed small-cell lung cancer are expected next year. The company also plans to begin a study in genitourinary cancers later this year.
Ris-rez is an antibody-drug conjugate, a class of targeted cancer therapies often described as “guided missiles” because they deliver cell-killing drugs directly to tumours while largely sparing healthy tissue.
Most patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer relapse after initial treatment, leaving limited options and a poor prognosis.
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru and Bhanvi Satija in London. Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Mark Potter)
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