GSK hails encouraging trial of new drug to fight ovarian cancer

GLAXOSMITHKLINE has unveiled promising results from a late-stage trial of an important oncology drug in the first sign that its new approach to research and development is starting to pay off.

Zejula was acquired by GSK when it bought US oncology biotech Tesaro for more than $5bn (£4bn) last year. The cost of the acquisition raised eyebrows as it was effectively a bet on Zejula, a class of cancer drug called a parp inhibitor that faces considerable competition.

The success of Zejula is therefore critical for GSK to justify the high price it paid for Tesaro. The results suggest GSK’S decision to buy Tesaro was a good move and vindicates R&D chief Hal Barron’s approach to drug development.

It is also the first major oncology drug in GSK’S small, but growing, pipeline to report results.

Zejula is already approved for women with ovarian cancer who have had two treatments and who carry a certain genetic mutation.

This latest trial is important because it suggests the therapy can prevent cancer from returning in women who have only had one round of chemotherapy, and that it works in women who carry the mutation as well as those who do not.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most frequent cause of cancer death among women and has a high recurrence rate after chemotherapy.

Almost 300,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year, including 65,000 in Europe, but only 15pc of patients are currently eligible to receive parp inhibitors as their first therapy.

Dr Barron said: “These exciting data demonstrate that Zejula has the potential to significantly benefit even more women with this devastating cancer.”

If approved by regulators, Zejula would become the first parp inhibitor on the market for all women with ovarian cancer, rather than just the 15pc who carry the mutation. That would substantially increase the number of women Zejula could treat.

Parp inhibitors work by preventing cancer cells from being repaired, causing them to die.

There are many rival drugs, including Astrazeneca’s Lynparza and Rubraca made by Clovis Oncology, but neither are approved for women who lack the genetic mutation.

GSK unveiled a major investment strategy last summer to focus on its pharmaceuticals business and ditch assets it thinks will not succeed.

As part of the new plan, oncology and the genetics of disease have become major areas of investment.

The FTSE 100 company further bolstered its cancer drug development pipeline earlier this year after paying more than $4bn to Germany’s Merck for the rights to a new immunotherapy drug.

Glaxosmithkline’s shares rose 0.9pc, or 14.8p, to close at £16.38 yesterday.