GSK, a global biopharma company, dedicates its resources to cancer research and treatment. Its mission is to help people live longer, feel better, and do more. GSK’s oncology efforts aim to maximize patient survival by delivering innovative medicines. The company pursues new oncology targets with the potential to impact patient outcomes.
Core Therapeutic Areas
GSK Oncology focuses its research and development on areas with unmet medical needs. The company aims to improve quality of life, maximize survival, and change the course of disease. Current focus areas include blood cancers, such as multiple myeloma and myelofibrosis, and gynecologic cancers, including ovarian and endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer, for instance, is the sixth most common cancer in women globally, with incidence rates projected to rise by almost 40% between 2020 and 2040, highlighting a need for new therapies.
GSK is also expanding into other solid tumors, specifically lung and gastrointestinal cancers. These areas are selected based on the scientific opportunity to develop targeted medicines. By understanding tumor genetic signatures, GSK aims to develop therapies that address disease mechanisms. This approach seeks to match the right medicine to the right patient, improving outcomes and quality of life.
Approved Treatments and Future Pipeline
GSK has approved several oncology treatments and maintains a robust pipeline. Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin), an anti-BCMA antibody-drug conjugate, was approved in the European Union for adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. This approval is based on efficacy data from Phase III trials, DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8, which showed superior progression-free and overall survival when Blenrep was used in combination. Blenrep is also approved in the UK, Japan, Canada, and Switzerland, with applications under review in the US and China.
The company’s portfolio includes Zejula (niraparib), a PARP inhibitor for ovarian cancer, and Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly), an anti-PD-1 antibody. Jemperli has shown promising results in advanced solid tumors, including a 100% clinical response rate in a study for a specific type of rectal cancer. In its pipeline, momelotinib for myelofibrosis was approved in September. Other pipeline assets include dostarlimab in combination with carboplatin-paclitaxel for primary advanced or first recurrent endometrial cancer in Phase 3, and niraparib for newly-diagnosed glioblastoma in Phase 3.
Advancing Oncology Research
GSK’s oncology research leverages scientific innovation, advanced technologies, and human biology. The company focuses on four scientific areas: immuno-oncology, cell therapy, cancer epigenetics, and synthetic lethality. Immuno-oncology involves harnessing the immune system to fight cancer, while cell therapy engineers T cells to target cancer cells. Cancer epigenetics explores modulating the epigenome for anti-cancer effects, and synthetic lethality targets two mechanisms simultaneously for anti-cancer outcomes.
GSK allocated approximately £6.4 billion to research and development in 2024. The R&D strategy emphasizes precision medicine technology to pinpoint cancer’s genetic signature and identify new treatment combinations. This involves building one of the world’s largest genetic datasets to gain insights into disease biology. GSK also collaborates with academic institutions and companies, such as Ideaya Biosciences, to accelerate novel therapy development.
Commitment to Patients
GSK’s commitment to patients includes support programs to improve treatment access. The “Together with GSK Oncology” program provides comprehensive access and reimbursement services for patients prescribed GSK oncology products. This program offers financial assistance, including co-pay assistance for eligible commercially insured patients.
The GSK Patient Assistance Program offers certain medications free of charge to uninsured and Medicare patients who meet eligibility requirements. This program helps ensure financial constraints do not prevent access to necessary treatments. Together with GSK Oncology also provides claims assistance and information regarding insurance coverage and costs, helping patients and healthcare providers navigate treatment access.