GSK wagers $750m on Chimagen multiple myeloma therapy

GSK has continued its drive to bulk up its pipeline, taking global rights to a T-cell engager (TCE) for multiple myeloma, developed by China's Chimagen Biosciences, for up to $750 million.

The deal focuses on a "potential first-in-class" trispecific TCE that, according to GSK, promises to combine good targeting of multiple myeloma cells, but also offer improved safety compared to other TCEs for the blood cancer, which it says have suffered from "difficult tolerability profiles."

Current approved TCEs for multiple myeloma include BCMAxCD3 targeting drugs – Johnson & Johnson's Tecvayli (teclistamab) and Pfizer's Elrexfio (elranatamab) – as well as J&J's GPRC5DxCD3-directed Talvey (talquetamab). All three are for adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior lines of therapy, but are being tested in earlier settings.

Chimagen's unidentified candidate, which is currently in preclinical-stage development and due to start human testing next year, targets two tumour-associated antigens and "aims to achieve a deeper and more durable response compared to existing TCEs," along with reduced side effects.

GSK said the market for TCEs for multiple myeloma is valued at around $10 billion in the US alone, presenting a major opportunity for the asset.

The company already has one approved therapy for multiple myeloma – the BCMA-targeting antibody-drug conjugate Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin) – which has been growing fast, with sales doubling to around $30 million in the second quarter of this year. Blenrep is approved as a second-line or later option, but is also being developed for frontline use.

"Today’s deal secures a promising T-cell engager and advances GSK’s leadership goals in blood cancer," said the company's head of oncology R&D, Hesham Abdullah.

"The agreement complements our existing portfolio in multiple myeloma, adding a new potential option to address the different needs of patients facing this complex disease," he added.

Under new chief executive Luke Miels, GSK has been investing to shore up what for some years has been viewed as a somewhat subpar product pipeline, with a series of deals headed by the $10.6 billion takeover of Nuvalent earlier this year.

That added a trio of oncology drugs, headed by recently approved lung cancer therapy Jideytro (zidesamtinib), which analysts at Jefferies have previously suggested could generate sales of $5 billion to $7 billion a year at peak. That would be a big boost to GSK as it tries to build its annual revenues to £40 billion in 2031, from a little under £33 billion last year.

Other recent deals signed by GSK include a $1.3 billion play for Hutchmed's preclinical-stage KRAS- and EGFR-targeted HMPL-A830 for solid tumours, the acquisition of Canada's 35Pharma and its HS235 drug candidate for pulmonary hypertension (PH) for $950 million, and a pair of $1 billion deals giving it rights to siRNA candidates from Frontier Biotech and SiranBio.

Meanwhile, in 2024 GSK also licensed rights to another Chimagen drug, dual CD19 and CD20-targeted TCE CMG1A46, which is in phase I trials for B-cell malignancies and B-cell dependent autoimmune disorders.