UK's GSK to acquire U.S. drugmaker Nuvalent for $10.6 billion as pharma giants race to expand pipelines

U.K. pharmaceutical group GSK has entered an agreement to acquire U.S.-based drugmaker Nuvalent for $10.6 billion to bolster its lung cancer pipeline, in what would be the British drugmaker's largest acquisition in more than a decade.

The all-cash deal values Nuvalent at about $124 per share, according to a GSK filing on Tuesday, representing a 40% premium to its last closing price.

The Financial Times had reported the transaction earlier on Tuesday. Nuvalent did not respond to a request for comment.

"The acquisition provides GSK with immediate new sales growth opportunities, improving profit contributions from 2027, and a platform in lung cancer for rapid expansion with Ris-Rez, our B7-H3 targeted ADC (antibody-drug conjugate) in phase III clinical development," GSK chief executive Luke Miels said in a statement.

There is no change to GSK's 2026 full-year guidance of core operating profit and core earnings-per-share growth, the company said, expecting the acquisition to contribute to revenue growth from 2027.  

GSK Plc

The deal is the second largest acquisition in GSK's history, trailing its 2014 asset swap with Novartis in which it assumed control of the Swiss drugmaker's vaccines division in a transaction valued at $20 billion.

It would also mark a notable departure from the company's focus on smaller transactions in recent years.

Miels, who took over the job from longtime boss Emma Walmsley at the start of the year, told investors in February that he would focus on transactions in the £2 billion ($2.67 billion) to £4 billion range that were "hiding in plain sight."

Miels has been tasked with overhauling a company that has struggled to allay investor concerns about its drug pipeline. GSK's share price has climbed roughly 29% since Miels' appointment was announced in September.

Nuvalent's lead asset, neladalkib — a therapy that targets certain types of lung cancer — is currently undergoing FDA review with a deadline of Nov. 27.

The company also has a new drug application for zidesamtinib, for patients with a type of cancer known as ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer, under FDA review.

Analysts at CGS International estimated that if approved, neladalkib and zidesamtinib could generate combined annual revenues of $823 million in the 2029 financial year, in a January note to investors.

The deal also comes at a time of biotech dealmaking frenzy, driven by looming patent cliffs, newly buoyant public markets and pharma giants' race to bolster their pipelines. Biotech deals globally reached $106 billion across 201 transactions so far in 2026, according to PitchBook data, putting the sector on track for its strongest year since the pre-pandemic peak.

— CNBC's Elsa Ohlen contributed to this report.