London, Jan 9, 2026, 10:50 GMT — Regular session
- GSK shares edged lower in mid-morning London trading after a strong start to the year.
- Focus stayed on the company’s hepatitis B drug readout this week and what the data look like under the hood.
- Traders are also tracking an oncology royalty dispute and the run-up to GSK’s Feb. 4 results.
GSK (GSK.L) shares were down 0.6% at 1,879.5 pence by 1050 GMT, trading in a 1,871p to 1,886p range.
The stock is still digesting a phase III win for bepirovirsen, GSK’s experimental chronic hepatitis B treatment, which the company says achieved a “functional cure” — meaning the virus can no longer be detected in blood tests for a sustained period after treatment. GSK said it plans to start global regulatory filings from the first quarter of 2026 and described bepirovirsen as an antisense oligonucleotide, a short strand of synthetic genetic material designed to bind to viral RNA. GSK
Analysts are pressing for the cure rate and durability data, after GSK withheld the exact proportion of patients meeting the functional-cure bar. “The consistency of the phase-three data is encouraging and should open blockbuster potential,” Jefferies analyst Michael Leuchten wrote, while J.P. Morgan analysts said investors will focus on the detailed dataset to judge whether the benefit supports broad use; GSK has pegged peak annual sales above 2 billion pounds and is targeting more than 40 billion pounds of annual revenue by 2031. Reuters
GSK also flagged progress in vaccines this week, after the European Commission approved a prefilled syringe presentation of Shingrix, its shingles vaccine, which it said will roll out across EU countries in 2026. Tony Wood, GSK’s chief scientific officer, said the change was designed to “improve ease of administration” for healthcare professionals. GSK
On the legal front, U.S. biotech AnaptysBio said it filed a partial motion to dismiss a claim brought by GSK’s oncology unit Tesaro over royalties linked to Jemperli, a PD‑1 inhibitor — a type of immunotherapy that blocks a “brake” on the immune system to help it attack cancer. A hearing is expected by early March, with a trial scheduled for July 14–17, 2026. Reuters
But the next move in GSK stock may come down to what the bepirovirsen curve looks like once the full trial readout is aired — cure rate, safety, and how durable the response is — and whether that holds up as regulators weigh filings. The royalties fight around Jemperli is another moving part, and those timelines can stretch.
The next near-term dates on investors’ calendars are the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 13 and GSK’s full-year and fourth-quarter results on Feb. 4, when guidance and any update on the bepirovirsen filing path are likely to set the tone.
