How GSK is rebuilding its cancer business

{"text":[[{"start":7.05,"text":"In a nondescript laboratory at its sprawling site in Stevenage, north of London, GSK scientists are exploring molecules they hope will be the basis of the next blockbuster cancer drugs. "}],[{"start":18.3,"text":"Most of the work being done here is the pre-clinical development stage but it represents a remarkable about-turn by the UK pharmaceutical group. More than a decade after former chief executive Sir Andrew Witty oversaw GSK’s exit from oncology, the company is setting out its stall in cancer treatment once again. "}],[{"start":38.150000000000006,"text":"Witty’s successor, Dame Emma Walmsley, took the key step in 2018 with her first major acquisition, a $5.1bn cash deal for US cancer biotech Tesaro. This gave GSK access to Zejula, a treatment for ovarian cancer, and Jemperli for endometrial cancer. Combined, the two drugs had sales of £1.4bn last year."}],[{"start":62.45,"text":"Luke Miels, who took over as CEO in January and was closely involved in the dealmaking spree that helped GSK return to oncology during his tenure as chief commercial officer, is expected to continue building the portfolio."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":75.85000000000001,"text":"Chief scientific officer Tony Wood said GSK’s decision to reinvest in oncology should be seen as part of its shift towards becoming a more specialist-focused group. “It’s difficult to be a speciality company without recognising that oncology is one of the major if not the major speciality market,” he said."}],[{"start":94.15,"text":"The company is betting it can grow in a competitive therapeutic area as it seeks to diversify revenues to mitigate the impact of significant patent expiries in the near future and reach its ambitious target of more than £40bn in sales by 2031, against an analyst consensus of £35bn for that year."}],[{"start":116.05000000000001,"text":"So far, its return to oncology has yielded four drugs on the market, to treat gynaecological and blood cancers, and more than a dozen in its pipeline, including ongoing studies on colorectal, genitourinary and thoracic cancers."}],[{"start":129.75,"text":"“At the highest level we see oncology as a significant contributor to our £40bn expectation,” Wood said."}],[{"start":137.05,"text":"Another senior executive said GSK has the potential to become an industry leader in oncology from the next decade, predicting the business could contribute as much as half of sales in GSK’s largest division, speciality medicines."}],[{"start":151.05,"text":"Sales from this division — which includes oncology, HIV, respiratory, and immunology and inflammation — were £13.5bn in 2025. Within that, oncology sales were £2bn, a 43 per cent year-on-year rise. Total group sales last year were £32.7bn. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":172.95000000000002,"text":"The oncology assets underpinning GSK’s optimism have come from a mixture of internal R&D including from the Stevenage lab and sites elsewhere, and external assets the company has spent billions of dollars to acquire. "}],[{"start":186.3,"text":"These include a $1.9bn deal for Sierra Oncology in 2022 and a 2023 licensing agreement with China’s Hansoh Pharma for a drug to treat endometrial and ovarian cancer, worth up to $1.5bn. In 2025, it agreed an up to $12bn deal with China’s Hengrui Pharma to develop up to 12 drugs across specialisms including cancer."}],[{"start":212.35000000000002,"text":"The dealmaking is showing early promise. Mo-Rez, the drug licensed from Hansoh, delivered positive results last month and GSK is proceeding with five large-scale phase 3 trials."}],[{"start":226.60000000000002,"text":"Ris-rez, another drug licensed from Hansoh that targets a range of tumours, including lung, prostate and colorectal cancers, has received a series of regulatory designations — a process used to encourage development of promising treatments — around the world after positive early results."}],[{"start":244.60000000000002,"text":"Analysts from investment bank Jefferies said in a note that GSK’s early-stage oncology assets constituted “significantly underappreciated pipeline opportunities”. They forecast peak annual sales of $2bn for Mo-Rez."}],[{"start":258.6,"text":"The company’s internal R&D and external deals are focused on developing next-generation treatments that use a range of different technologies."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":266.55,"text":"These include antibody drug conjugates, which deliver more targeted chemotherapy, and T-cell engagers, which help the immune system recognise and kill cancer cells more effectively. "}],[{"start":277.1,"text":"Others include “protacs”, which target proteins on cancer cells, and RNA-based technology that builds on GSK’s vaccines and immunology expertise."}],[{"start":288.15000000000003,"text":"GSK is also using a “biological model system” that replicates the development of cancer and the body’s response over time. It acquired Berlin-based Cellphenomics, which develops these predictive 3D models, last year."}],[{"start":302.00000000000006,"text":"But it is competing in an area that requires heavy investment and is crowded with established groups. One healthcare investor said they were “surprised GSK has decided to invest in oncology” given how costly and competitive the field is."}],[{"start":316.20000000000005,"text":"Naresh Chouhan, an analyst at Intron Health, said GSK had chosen “a sensible place to start”. But he added that its approach was “piecemeal” and not “how big oncology companies do it. Because they destroyed their oncology business, they’re now having to behave like a biotech or a small speciality pharma does. They would still have to spend tens of billions to compete in oncology.” "}],[{"start":340.85,"text":"But Hesham Abdullah, GSK’s head of oncology R&D, said that while the diversity of cancers makes drug development more challenging, the company aims to stand out by focusing on “unmet needs”, particularly patients whose cancers have recurred or progressed despite treatment."}],[{"start":358.55,"text":"The company’s dealmaking in oncology is guided by a set of questions, he said, including whether assets address unmet needs aligned with the company’s existing capabilities, confidence in the underlying science, whether early data shows promise and if they offer value for patients and GSK."}],[{"start":377.15000000000003,"text":"“We’re constantly looking at ways to find the strengths and capabilities that we have in-house,” said Abdullah. “We’re also looking externally and continuing to survey the landscape for best-in-class assets. I’m also on the ground talking to key academic experts who see the patients and understand what the unmet need is.”"}],[{"start":401.8,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778382714_2588.mp3"}