(Reuters) – GSK said on Thursday a study showed its experimental drug Blenrep helped extend survival in patients with a type of blood cancer without symptoms worsening, marking a potential comeback for the drug after several setbacks.
Shares in the drugmaker rose as much as 2.6% to 17.17 pounds by 1132 GMT – their highest level since August 2022.
GSK said that an interim analysis of a late-stage trial, called “DREAMM-8”, showed Blenrep in combination with pomalidomide plus the steroid dexamethasone increased progression free survival versus the standard of care.
The drug was being tested as a second-line of treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in a trial of 302 patients.
GSK’s blood cancer drug Blenrep had seen several setbacks over the last couple of years. In 2022, it was pulled from the U.S. markets after it failed a late-stage study designed to show that it was better than an existing treatment.
The failure had dealt a blow to GSK’s oncology portfolio, but analysts said Thursday’s positive results could mean a comeback for the drug.
“Though we will have to await more quantitative details, GSK is planning to file DREAMM-7/8 with regulators which will likely bring Blenrep back into models after we’d largely removed it following prior failures,” Barclays analysts wrote in a note.
Analysts at Citi anticipate risk-adjusted Blenrep sales of 2.5 billion pounds ($3.19 billion) in 2035.
($1 = 0.7839 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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