GSK sees $500 mln peak sales for yeast infection pill licensed from Scynexis (updated)

Scynexis

30/03/2023 15:40

(Adds further comment)
    By Maggie Fick
       LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - British drugmaker GSK
 GSK.L  sees peak sales of more than $500 million for a drug to
treat yeast infections that it licensed from U.S. biotech
company Scynexis  SCYX.O  in a $90 million deal announced on
Wednesday, a top GSK executive said.
    The pill, Brexafemme, made just $1.6 million in revenues in
the third quarter of last year, according to the most recent
financial results from Scynexis, which specialises in
anti-fungal treatments. 
    But GSK's Chief Commercial Officer Luke Miels told
journalists he was confident that, as a big pharma company with
experience building awareness among doctors and patients, GSK
could change the trajectory of the product over time. 
    Up to 75% of women have at least one episode of vulvovaginal
candidiasis, commonly known as a vaginal yeast infection, in
their lifetimes, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention. Brexafemme is the only oral pill
treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
regulator, GSK said in a statement.
    Miels said GSK was attracted to the deal in part because
Scynexis had difficulty - which he said was common for biotech
firms - garnering adequate investment to make medical
professionals and potential customers in the U.S. aware of the
oral treatment. 
    "We think that's just a function of scale," he said, adding
GSK had a strong record over the past five years of launching
primary care treatments like its blockbuster Shingrix vaccine. 
    He said not say when he expected Brexafemme to reach peak
sales. 
    The agreement announced on Wednesday also gave GSK rights to
develop the medication for the potential treatment of invasive
candidiasis, a life-threatening fungal infection, which is
currently in late-stage clinical trials. It expects to launch
the product for that indication in 2026, Miels said.
    GSK has two other antibiotics in development, including
gepotidacin for uncomplicated urinary tract infections, which is
in late-stage trials. 
    It is one of a small number of big pharma companies
investing in research for next-generation antibiotics, where
there has not been a major breakthrough in decades, fuelling
concerns about the rise of drug-resistant bacteria and other
microbes due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics.

 (Reporting by Maggie Fick
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((maggie.fick@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7890 916706;))