GSK announces major acquisition to bolster oncology pipeline

Pharmaceutical giant GSK has announced a major acquisition of the biotech company Tesaro to help bolster its oncology pipeline.

The £4 billion acquisition will enable GSK to strengthen its place in the oncology market via Tesaro’s product Zejula (niraparib), an oral poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor currently approved for use in ovarian cancer.

PARP inhibitors have demonstrated clinical benefit in patient with and without germline mutations in a BRCA gene (gBRCA). The drug is currently used as a treatment for adult patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who are in response to platinum-based chemotherapy, regardless of BRCA mutation or biomarker status.

Clinical trials are also underway to assess Zejula as a monotherapy and in combinations as a first line maintenance treatment of ovarian cancer.

The ongoing trials are evaluating whether Zejula offers benefits to patients who carry gBRCA mutations as well as the larger population of patients without gBRCA mutations whose tumours are HRD-positive and HRD-negative

GSK’s acquisition of Tesaro is also based on the company’s belief that PARP inhibitors offer significant opportunities for use in the treatment of multiple cancer types. The drug is currently being investigated for use as a treatment for lung, breast and prostate cancer. Besides Zujula, Tesaro has several other oncology products in its pipeline.

Emma Walmsley, chief executive officer, GSK, said: “The acquisition of Tesaro will strengthen our pharmaceuticals business by accelerating the build of our oncology pipeline and commercial footprint, along with providing access to new scientific capabilities. This combination will support our aim to deliver long-term sustainable growth and is consistent with our capital allocation priorities. We look forward to working with Tesaro’s talented team to bring valuable new medicines to patients.”

Mary Lynne Hedley, president and chief operating officer, Tesaro, said: “This partnership marks an evolution in the way we live out the Tesaro mission and will allow us to more rapidly deliver on our commitment to patients. I am excited to be partnering with our new colleagues at GSK as together we advance innovative scientific and drug development strategies that ultimately enable us to provide more time for more patients.”

Pharma analyst Paul Jeng, from data and analytics company GlobalData, argues that GSK’s recent acquisition doesn’t guarantee its success in the oncology market.

‘‘Although the acquisition of Tesaro bolsters GSK’s oncology program with Zejula, an approved PARP inhibitor for treatment of ovarian cancer, GSK is taking a risk by entering a highly competitive market currently dominated by Merck and AstraZeneca’s Lynparza.

"Given the absence of efficacy data to significantly distinguish Zejula from other PARP inhibitors, it is unclear whether GSK’s bet on Zejula will pay significant dividends unless clinical evidence justifies label expansion as first-line treatment for ovarian cancer," Jeng says.