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GSK buys cancer drugmaker Nuvalent for $10.6 billion

GSK buys cancer drugmaker Nuvalent for $10.6 billion

Money Moves

GSK's largest deal in over a decade adds two late-stage lung cancer drugs as it braces for a 2028 HIV patent cliff

November 27th, 2026: FDA ruling due on neladalkib

Overview

GSK agreed to pay $10.6 billion in cash for Nuvalent, a Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech with two lung cancer drugs awaiting U.S. approval. At $124 a share, the price is about 40% above where Nuvalent traded before the deal. It is GSK's biggest acquisition in more than a decade.

GSK's top-selling HIV medicine starts losing patent protection in 2028. That drug brought in $5.65 billion last year. The Nuvalent deal is how GSK plans to replace some of that lost revenue with cancer drugs that could reach the market within months.

Why it matters

Two next-generation lung cancer drugs could reach patients within months, if the FDA clears them and GSK's $10.6 billion bet pays off.

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Key Indicators

$10.6B
Deal value
All-cash purchase, GSK's largest acquisition in over a decade.
$124/share
Offer price
About a 40% premium over Nuvalent's prior share price.
40%
Premium paid
Nuvalent shares jumped roughly 39% on the news.
$5.65B
HIV revenue at risk
2025 sales of GSK's dolutegravir drugs, which lose patent protection from 2027.
2
Late-stage drugs
Zidesamtinib and neladalkib, both under FDA review for lung cancer.

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People Involved

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Timeline

March 2015 November 2026

5 events Latest: November 27th, 2026
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. FDA ruling due on neladalkib

    Latest Regulatory

    The FDA's target decision date for Nuvalent's ALK inhibitor, the second drug central to GSK's bet.

  2. FDA ruling due on zidesamtinib

    Regulatory

    The FDA's target decision date for Nuvalent's ROS1 inhibitor, the first of the two drugs to face a verdict.

  3. GSK agrees to buy Nuvalent for $10.6 billion

    Today Deal

    GSK offers $124 a share in cash, about a 40% premium. Nuvalent shares jump roughly 39%. It is GSK's largest acquisition in more than a decade.

  4. Nuvalent launches

    Corporate

    Nuvalent starts with $50 million from Deerfield Management to build kinase inhibitors that overcome cancer drug resistance.

  5. GSK exits most of oncology

    Corporate

    GSK sells the bulk of its cancer business to Novartis in an asset swap, leaving a gap it would later spend years filling.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 2018

GSK buys Tesaro (2018)

GSK paid $5.1 billion for Tesaro, a Massachusetts cancer biotech, to re-enter oncology three years after selling most of that business to Novartis. The deal centered on Zejula, an ovarian cancer drug. Investors initially questioned the price.

Then

GSK shares fell on the announcement as analysts called the price steep for a single lead drug.

Now

The deal anchored GSK's return to cancer drugs and set the template for buying late-stage assets rather than building from scratch.

Why this matters now

Nuvalent is the same playbook at twice the scale: buy a Massachusetts oncology biotech with near-market drugs to rebuild a portfolio GSK once walked away from.

January 2019

Eli Lilly buys Loxo Oncology (2019)

Eli Lilly paid $8 billion for Loxo Oncology, a biotech making precision drugs that target specific cancer-causing mutations rather than tumor location. The price was a 68% premium. Loxo's drugs worked across cancer types defined by genetics.

Then

The deal gave Lilly an instant precision-oncology franchise and a marketed drug, larotrectinib.

Now

It validated paying large premiums for mutation-targeted cancer biotechs, a category Nuvalent also occupies.

Why this matters now

Like Loxo, Nuvalent designs drugs aimed at precise genetic targets. Big drugmakers keep paying steep premiums for that approach, which is exactly what GSK just did.

November 2011

Pfizer's Lipitor patent cliff (2011)

Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor, then the best-selling medicine ever at over $9 billion a year, lost U.S. patent protection. Generic copies flooded in within weeks. Pfizer's revenue dropped sharply and it spent years restructuring and buying replacements.

Then

Lipitor sales collapsed as cheaper generics took the market almost immediately.

Now

The episode became the textbook case of a patent cliff and pushed drugmakers to plan replacements years ahead.

Why this matters now

GSK faces its own cliff in 2028 as its $5.65 billion HIV franchise loses protection. The Nuvalent deal is GSK trying to line up replacement revenue before that drop hits.

Sources

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