Tuesday, June 16, 2026

GSK to acquire Nuvalent in $10.6 billion oncology deal

GSK has agreed to acquire Nuvalent, a Boston-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, in a transaction valued at about $10.6 billion on an equity basis. The deal is designed to strengthen GSK’s oncology portfolio and accelerate its move into defined segments of non-small cell lung cancer.

Nuvalent focuses on precision oncology medicines. The acquisition brings three lung cancer programs into GSK’s portfolio, including two late-stage assets that are already under review by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Two late-stage assets under FDA review

The lead programs are zidesamtinib, also known as NVL-520, and neladalkib, also known as NVL-655. Zidesamtinib is a ROS1 inhibitor, while neladalkib targets ALK. GSK describes both as potential best-in-class, next-generation, highly selective therapies for non-small cell lung cancer.

Both candidates have received Breakthrough Therapy and Orphan Drug designations in the United States. According to GSK, the FDA target decision date for zidesamtinib is 18 September 2026, followed by neladalkib on 27 November 2026. If approved, both products could launch in 2026.

GSK sees substantial commercial potential in the two assets. Their development is aimed at addressing limitations of existing therapies, including resistance mutations, tolerability issues and central nervous system involvement. Clinical data have been presented at the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer 2025 and the ASCO Annual Meeting 2026.

Additional pipeline and strategic rationale

The transaction also includes NVL-330, a HER2 inhibitor currently in phase I development for HER2-altered non-small cell lung cancer. GSK will also gain Nuvalent’s preclinical programs, which are based on its precision medicine and structure-guided drug design capabilities.

The acquisition fits GSK’s stated strategy of adding assets directed at validated targets where there is a need to improve efficacy or tolerability. It also gives GSK a platform in lung cancer that the company plans to expand with Ris-Rez, its B7-H3 antibody-drug conjugate now in phase III development.

Transaction terms

GSK plans to launch a tender offer within ten business days for all outstanding Nuvalent Class A and Class B common shares. The offer price is 124 dollars per share in cash. Net of acquired cash, GSK estimates the investment at about $9.4 billion, or £7.1 billion.

The offer price represents a 40 percent premium to Nuvalent’s last closing share price and a 26 percent premium to the 30-calendar-day volume-weighted average price, according to GSK.

The acquisition will be funded mainly through new and existing debt facilities, together with cash. GSK said it does not expect an impact on its credit rating and that it will retain capacity for further accretive business development. The company will also assume Nuvalent’s existing revenue-sharing arrangements, including low-single-digit royalties payable to Royalty Pharma and Deerfield.

Financial outlook

GSK said the acquisition does not change its 2026 full-year guidance, which calls for 7 to 9 percent growth in core operating profit and core earnings per share. The company expects the deal to support revenue growth from 2027 and to add to its ambition of generating more than £40 billion in sales by 2031.

GSK expects the transaction to be accretive to core operating profit in 2027 and to core earnings per share in 2029, including synergies and portfolio reprioritisation. If the transaction closes in the third quarter of 2026, GSK expects low single-digit percentage dilution to core EPS in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions. These include the tender of a majority of Nuvalent’s outstanding Class A shares and the expiry or termination of the applicable waiting period under the US Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.