British drugmaker GSK and its Chinese partner Hansoh Pharmaceutical have reported that their targeted cancer therapy, known as ris-rez, has met the main survival goal in a late-stage trial in China involving patients with advanced or relapsed small-cell lung cancer. In the China-based ARTEMIS-008 study, the drug delivered “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” improvements in overall survival compared with the current standard chemotherapy, topotecan, marking an important advance in a notoriously hard-to-treat cancer.
Hansoh said secondary endpoints, including progression-free survival, also showed consistent benefits, with no new safety signals emerging in the trial, strengthening the case for the antibody drug conjugate as a potential new option for patients. The company, which retains rights to ris-rez in mainland China, plans to seek regulatory approval there in the near term, while GSK is preparing a separate global late-stage study in relapsed small-cell lung cancer and intends to start another trial in genitourinary cancers later this year.
Hesham Abdullah, GSK’s Global Head of Oncology R&D, described the results as “an important milestone” and said they support the drug’s potential not only in lung cancer but across other solid tumours. The programme extends GSK’s broader push into targeted oncology therapies, following previously reported promising early data in other tumour types, and underscores the growing role of antibody–drug conjugates in cancer treatment strategies worldwide.
