Pharmaceuticals

GSK acquires Nuvalent for £10.6 billion in the biggest deal of the last decade

The deal values Nuvalent at around $124 per share, representing a 40% premium on the last closing price

by Mo.d.

9 June 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Market Analysis

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

GlaxoSmithKline is accelerating its strategic transformation and significantly strengthening its presence in oncology. The British pharmaceutical group has announced the acquisition of Nuvalent, a publicly listed US biotech company specialising in the development of innovative cancer therapies. The deal is worth a total of $10.6 billion. This is the company’s largest acquisition in over a decade and a strong signal of the new direction taken by the new CEO, Luke Miels, who took office at the start of 2026.

The market reaction was immediate: on Wall Street, Nuvalent shares rose by over 38% to $122.10, whilst GSK shares fell by over 3% in early trading on the London Stock Exchange before paring their losses and heading towards parity by the close of trading.

Details of the acquisition

The deal, which is being financed entirely in cash, values Nuvalent at approximately $124 per share, representing a 40% premium over the stock’s last closing price.

The deal marks a clear departure from the traditional external growth strategy pursued by GSK in recent years, which has generally focused on smaller (around 2–4 billion at most) and highly complementary acquisitions. With this deal, Miels aims to convince the market of the viability of the business plan presented, which forecasts annual revenues of £40 billion by 2031.

“This deal exceeds the scale we are normally accustomed to because it is an exceptional opportunity,” said Miels during a conference call with analysts. The manager did, however, point out that the company’s growth targets do not depend solely on this acquisition: “This is a multi-product deal. Essentially, it is like buying three products in a single transaction.”

Excluding the cash held on Nuvalent’s balance sheet, the net investment for GSK is estimated at approximately $9.4 billion. The company expects the transaction to contribute positively to revenue and operating profit from 2027 onwards and to have a favourable impact on adjusted earnings per share from 2029.

A strategic expansion in oncology

According to management, the acquisition will significantly expand the treatment options available to patients with lung cancer and provide an important platform for the development of Ris-Rez, GSK’s experimental antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) currently in advanced clinical trials.

Since taking office, Miels has identified accelerating the development of new medicines and strengthening the pipeline in advanced stages as priorities, partly to prepare the group for the patent expiry of dolutegravir, one of the key medicines in GSK’s HIV portfolio, scheduled for 2028. Furthermore, since the start of his tenure, the company has already completed two smaller acquisitions in other areas.

The growing focus on oncology is also reflected in the figures. In 2025 revenue from GSK’s oncology division had increased by 43% compared with the previous year, reaching almost £2 billion. Despite this strong growth, oncology still accounts for only 6% of the group’s total sales, which stand at £32.7 billion.

Market Analysis

Analysts at Barclays believe that the acquisition is highly strategically aligned. The deal adds late-stage oncology assets to a therapeutic area already covered by the company and could help offset the expected decline in revenue resulting from the future loss of exclusivity for certain HIV products, provided that regulatory approvals are granted on schedule.

The move is also part of the pharmaceutical group’s broader strategy to narrow the competitive gap with AstraZeneca in the oncology sector. For the Anglo-Swedish group, in fact, oncology accounted for 44% of total turnover in the last financial year, highlighting just how central this segment has become to the growth of major pharmaceutical companies.

A platform with the potential for multiple blockbusters

Miels explained that the group had been monitoring the progress of Nuvalent’s research for over a year. The company had initially been identified by the internal oncology and business development teams, and within the company, the project was known by the code name “Nashville”. According to the CEO, the clinical results presented by the US biotech company at a major medical conference last week were the decisive factor that prompted GSK to proceed with the offer.

The deal brings with it two leading drug candidates for the treatment of lung cancer, zidesamtinib and neladalkib, which will become part of the British group’s portfolio of products nearing market launch. Decisions from the US regulatory authorities are expected in September and November of this year, respectively. If approved, both drugs could be launched on the market during 2026. The British group estimates that the two therapies have the potential to become multiple blockbusters. UBS analysts estimate that zidesamtinib alone could reach peak annual sales of close to $2 billion.

In addition to the two main assets, the acquisition also includes an experimental drug for HER2-positive lung cancer in the early stages of development, as well as several oncology programmes still in the preclinical and laboratory phases, further strengthening the group’s research pipeline.

Funding and financial impact

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026, subject to the usual regulatory approvals and other conditions set out in the agreement.

GSK has announced that the acquisition will be financed primarily through new debt facilities and existing financing arrangements, supplemented by the group’s cash reserves. The company has also indicated that the transaction could result in a low-single-digit dilution of adjusted earnings per share in the period between 2026 and 2028, before the benefits of integration and the launch of new products begin to be fully reflected in the financial results.

For GSK, therefore, the acquisition of Nuvalent represents one of the most significant strategic moves in recent years. If clinical programmes and regulatory approvals proceed as planned, the British group could significantly strengthen its position in the global oncology market and take a decisive step towards the ambitious growth targets set for the coming decade.