GSK hepatitis B drug a long-term opportunity but US bank holds back from upgrading

Citi is holding back from recommending GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) shares despite a significant clinical breakthrough in hepatitis B treatment, arguing that unanswered commercial questions mean any value from the new drug is unlikely to materialise for shareholders in the near term. The bank maintains its 'neutral' rating on GSK after trial results for the company's experimental drug bepirovirsen were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.