GSK’s “crown jewels” already look tarnished

Last year GSK named the late-stage projects that together, it believed, had peak sales potential of over £20bn ($23.7bn). Today, it pulled one of these, Blenrep, from the market.

Even if market withdrawal might have been foreseen after the failure of this antibody-drug conjugate's confirmatory trial, the speed with which GSK has lost one of its flagship oncology projects will alarm investors. And this is the latest in a long line of setbacks for GSK’s “crown jewels”. The group is likely to face more questions about whether it can continue in its current form – and how long Emma Walmsley, can hang on as chief executive.