GSK, Hansoh's bone cancer drug delays disease progression in late-stage China study
GSK•Ris-rez helped patients with relapsed, refractory osteosarcoma live a median 5.5 months without disease worsening, compared with 1.4 months for chemotherapy, in a late-stage China study. Researchers said it reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 67%.
1. Study results
The experimental targeted cancer therapy ris-rez was tested in 122 patients aged 12 and older whose osteosarcoma had progressed after more than two lines of prior treatment. Patients received a 12-milligram dose of ris-rez or chemotherapy once every three weeks.
2. Development plans
Hansoh Pharmaceutical and GSK are developing the drug. GSK licensed ris-rez from Hansoh and is accelerating its development across several cancers; oncology product development head Eric Richards said the results gave the company confidence in the drug's potential activity across different tumors.
3. GSK oncology focus
GSK is seeking to expand beyond blood and gynaecological treatments into areas including lung and prostate cancer. At this year's European Society for Medical Oncology Congress, it had 21 data abstracts, compared with 11 last year.
