GSK Buys Nuvalent for $10.6 Billion to Strengthen Lung Cancer Pipeline

GSK faces a revenue cliff after 2028 when its top HIV drug loses patent protection. The British company is addressing that gap by acquiring Nuvalent, a Boston biotech, for $10.6 billion in an all-cash deal that values the target at roughly $124 per share.

The transaction, announced June 9, is GSK’s largest since a 2014 asset swap with Novartis. It gives GSK two late-stage non-small cell lung cancer therapies, zidesamtinib and neladalkib, both under FDA review with decisions expected by November. Nuvalent’s founder Matthew Shair holds a 2.16 percent stake, while Deerfield Management is the largest shareholder. Shares of Nuvalent rose 38-39 percent in premarket trading; GSK shares fell about 3 percent in London.

CEO Luke Miels, who assumed the role at the start of the year, described the assets as potential best-in-class treatments that could launch this year if approved. He noted the drugs target specific genetic mutations affecting roughly 4,000 U.S. patients, mostly non-smoking women aged 40-50, and aim for better tolerability than existing therapies that require seven or eight years of treatment.

Barclays analysts called the strategic fit logical but questioned whether the two drugs can reach mega-blockbuster status, saying upside appears capped. CGS International previously estimated combined peak sales of $823 million by 2029. The deal is expected to begin contributing revenue in 2027 and forms part of Miels’ “brick-by-brick” oncology expansion that already included a $2.2 billion purchase of RAPT Therapeutics in January.

GSK maintained its 2026 earnings guidance and said the acquisition will not alter full-year forecasts. The company also holds an additional early-stage asset and preclinical programs from Nuvalent. Global biotech deal volume reached $106 billion through mid-2026, according to PitchBook, reflecting broader industry efforts to replenish pipelines ahead of patent expirations.