GSK said its Jideytro drug showed benefits for patients with a type of lung cancer in a clinical trial, a finding that could help the company seek approval for the medicine at an earlier stage of treatment.

The U.K. drugmaker said new data for Jideytro--one of the products it obtained from its recent $10.6 billion acquisition of Nuvalent--will be part of the package it plans to submit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to move the medicine up the therapy line.

In the study, patients with a type of nonsmall-cell lung cancer saw their cancers shrink or disappear after being treated with Jideytro, the company said. The drug also achieved a meaningful duration of response, as the disease didn't worsen after a year for 90% of patients, it added.

The FDA in July approved Jideytro for previously treated advanced lung cancer with a specific mutation. GSK now aims to seek authorization for patients who hadn't received a similar therapy before.

The company is on track with moving its plans forward, given the data that it has in hand now, GSK's head of oncology research and development Hesham Abdullah said on a call with reporters.

The FDA approval for Jideytro marked GSK's first in lung cancer and a key step in its efforts to build back its oncology business.

The company has been trying to re-enter the lucrative market for oncology drugs, assembling a portfolio of treatments for different cancers through a string of acquisitions over the past decade, with Nuvalent as its biggest move to date.