GSK makes big oncology play, buys Tesaro for US$ 5 billion

By PharmaCompass

2018-12-06

Impressions: 92 Article

British drug major GlaxoSmithKline has struck a deal to acquire Tesaro, the maker of the ovarian cancer drug Zejula, for US$ 5.1 billion in cash. The acquisition will vault GSK into the commercial oncology market.

“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,” Emma Walmsley, Glaxo’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The deal fits into a framework outlined in July by Hal Barron, the acclaimed pharma veteran who took over as GSK’s head of R&D in early 2018. He believes that Zejula will prove effective in a larger percentage of cancer patients. Barron also sees value in two experimental drugs Tesaro is testing that harness the immune system to attack cancer, an area that Barron has said will be important to GSK.

Drugs like Zejula, known as PARP inhibitors, work by blocking a process that cells use to repair their DNA. In cancer cells that have already witnessed damage to their DNA-repair mechanisms, such drugs can dramatically slow down tumor growth.

“We are optimistic that Zejula will demonstrate benefit in patients with ovarian cancer beyond those who are BRCA-positive as front-line treatment,” Barron said.

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