GSK has entered an agreement to acquire Nuvalent, a Boston-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating precisely targeted oncology therapies, for $10.6 billion.
The acquisition is consistent with GSK’s strategy of acquiring assets that have validated targets and meaningfully address efficacy and/or tolerability limitations of existing standard-of-care therapies. It includes three products in lung cancer in a single transaction.
Zidesamtinib and neladalkib are two late-stage, potential best-in-class, next-generation, highly selective ROS1 and ALK inhibitors for treatment of non-small cell lung Cancerm (NSCLC). Both assets have received FDA Breakthrough Therapy and Orphan Drug Designations and are in review with target decision dates of 18 September 2026 for zidesamtinib and 27 November 2026 for neladalkib. Subject to FDA approval, they are expected to launch in 2026 and have multi-blockbuster potential.
The third asset, NVL-330, is a potential best-in-class HER2 inhibitor currently in phase 1 trials for HER2-altered NSCLC. The acquisition also includes Nuvalent’s preclinical portfolio of multiple programmes, built from their proven precision medicine capabilities and clinical insights from industry-leading physician-scientists.
Pivotal data presented at the IASLC 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer and the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting show potential best-in-class profiles for zidesamtinib and neladalkib. Both assets aim for longer effective treatment with better quality of life through high target-selectivity, durable treatment response, improved tolerability, enhanced blood-brain barrier penetration for tumour spread, and broader coverage of ALK and ROS1 mutations, potentially addressing efficacy and/or tolerability limitations of existing therapies. ROS1-altered and ALK-altered NSCLC primarily affect non-smoking adults aged 40-50, a uniquely defined and engaged patient population. There is substantive treatment experience with zidesamtinib and neladalkib already through their clinical development and patient assistance programmes.
Financial considerations
Under the terms of the merger agreement, GSK will commence a tender offer to acquire all of Nuvalent’s outstanding shares of Class A and Class B common stock at a purchase price of $124 per share in cash within 10 business days. The aggregate equity value of the transaction is estimated to be $10.6 billion (£8 billion).
There is no change to GSK’s 2026 full-year guidance range of 7%-9% core operating profit and core EPS growth. The acquisition is expected to contribute to revenue growth from 2027, be incremental to the Group’s existing ambition for sales of >£40 billion by 2031 and to strengthen core operating profit through the dolutegravir loss of exclusivity period (2028-2030). We expect accretion to core operating profit in 2027 and core EPS in 2029 inclusive of synergies and reprioritisation. Assuming the transaction closes in Q3 2026, we expect low single-digit percentage dilution to core EPS for the current year, FY 2027 and FY 2028.
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 retains balance sheet capacity for further accretive business development.
