GlaxoSmithKline plans to launch five new cancer medicines through 2010, the company said during a meeting with analysts and investors in London today.
The drugmaker expects to begin selling Cervarix for the prevention of cervical cancer, Pazopanib for renal cell carcinoma, Promacta for the blood disorder thrombocytopenia, Rezonic, for emesis and Ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20) for forms of leukemia and lymphoma.
“This is an unprecedented objective for a pharmaceutical company,” GlaxoSmithKline’s chairman of R&D Moncef Slaoui said in a published report.
Slaoui added in a statement, “Moving deeper into the pipeline we believe that this productivity in oncology can be sustained as we have a significant number of promising new compounds in early-stage discovery…We expect our oncology pipeline to be a key area of success for GSK for many years to come.”
GSK expects its start selling its Cervarix cervical cancer vaccine in Europe in the second half of this year and in early 2008 in the US.
The company is looking to use Pazopanib to treat 12 different types of cancer and has done trials of the drug in renal cell carcinoma, ovarian cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma.
Late-stage trial data showed that anti-nausea drug Rezonic worked better when combined with Zofran, another anti-nausea drug made by GSK, which lost patent protection last year. The company is seeking permission to sell Rezonic in the first half of 2008.
Promacta for uncontrolled bleeding in patients with bleeding disorder thrombocytopenic purpura will be submitted for approval by early 2008, GSK said.
