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

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.

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