GSK blood cancer drug Blenrep fails to beat rival treatments in tests

GSK has stopped selling its blood cancer drug Blenrep in the United States following a series of setbacks for its oncology business. In what will come as a disappointment to CEO Emma Walmsley, the pharmaceutical giant said it has begun to withdraw the drug from the US.

Blenrep failed the main goal of a major study designed to show it was better than an existing treatment on the market, sparking fears that regulatory approval could be withdrawn by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA ).

GSK said it will continue trial programs for the drug, adding that some patients will have the option to enroll for continued access to the treatment.

The company said access to Blenrep in other countries where it is marketed is not affected, including across the European Union.

GSK is still discussing the latest clinical data with EU health authorities, a spokesman said.

Blenrep belongs to a class of treatments called antibody drug conjugates. These are engineered antibodies that bind to tumor cells and then release cell-killing chemicals.

Oncology is an important area for GSK, but the company suffered another blow this month after it was forced to limit the use of its ovarian cancer drug Zejula in the US