BY Richard Summerfield
GSK has agreed to buy US cancer biotech Nuvalent for $10.6bn, in the UK pharmaceutical group’s biggest acquisition for more than a decade.
The all-cash deal values Nuvalent at around $124 per share, a 40 percent premium to its last closing price before the deal was announced and a 26 percent premium to the company’s 30 calendar day volume-weighted average price.
According to a statement announcing the deal, the transaction will be funded primarily from new and existing debt facilities plus cash, with no impact expected to GSK’s credit rating. GSK will maintain a strong investment grade credit profile and retain balance sheet capacity for further accretive business development.
The deal, which is expected to close in Q3 2026, is indicative of the strategic shift the company has undertaken since the appointment of Luke Miels, its new chief executive. The company previously prioritised bolt-on acquisitions, but under Mr Miels appears to be moving away from this tactic.
GSK is also making a concerted push into on oncology treatments under its new leadership. Since taking control of the company, Mr Miels has pledged to accelerate development of new medicines and target new assets to strengthen GSK’s late-stage pipeline and manage the 2028 patent expiry of its key HIV medicine dolutegravir. The company reported a 43 percent rise in sales across its oncology portfolio last year to just under £2bn, which accounted for around 6 percent of the group's total.
“Today’s acquisition is a multi-product deal, consistent with our approach to acquire assets that have clinically proven targets and meaningfully address an efficacy and/or tolerability gap,” said Mr Miels. “The two lead products are potential best-in-class assets that could launch this year if approved by the FDA and offer significant new treatment options to patients with two forms of non-small cell lung cancer.
“The acquisition provides GSK with immediate new sales growth opportunities, improving profit contributions from 2027, and a platform in lung cancer for rapid expansion with Ris-Rez, our B7-H3 targeted ADC in phase III clinical development,” he added.
“Since our founding, we have leveraged our deep expertise in chemistry and structure-based drug design to develop a portfolio of novel, potentially best-in-class kinase inhibitors,” said James Porter, chief executive of Nuvalent. “Our close collaboration with leading physician-scientists and patient advocates has driven remarkable enrolment, accelerating development and building confidence in the clinical profile of these drugs.
“We’re excited that GSK has recognised the significant value these programmes can offer patients and shares our vision for practice-changing innovation,” he continued. “GSK’s proven track record, infrastructure, and expertise will support the successful commercialisation of zidesamtinib and neladalkib, as well as accelerate advancement of our broader discovery pipeline.”
News: GSK boosts cancer portfolio with $10.6 billion Nuvalent takeover