Why a U.K. pharma giant is paying a 40% premium to pivot back to oncology

By Steve Goldstein

Under a new CEO, GSK makes a big bet on cancer drugs

GSK on Tuesday struck a deal to buy Nuvalent for $10.6 billion.

U.K. pharmaceutical giant GSK on Tuesday struck a $10.6 billion deal to buy U.S.-listed biotech company Nuvalent, its biggest acquisition in eight years as it seeks to bolster the cancer portfolio it had previously trimmed.

GSK last struck a deal of that size in the 2018 deal to buy Novartis out of its consumer healthcare joint venture that later would become Haleon. Novartis also was the counterparty in the complicated 2014 deal in which GSK swapped its oncology portfolio for the Swiss firm's vaccines business.

Though it grew by 43% last year, oncology revenue only accounted for GBP2 billion ($2.7 billion) of GSK's GBP32.67 billion in revenue.

Now, GSK is revving up its oncology business once again in buying the Boston company (NUVL) for $124 per share in cash, a 40% premium to Monday's close in the first major move since new CEO Luke Miels took over the company.

GSK shares (UK:GSK) (GSK) slumped 4% in early trade.

"With GSK having fallen behind its UK counterpart AstraZeneca in share price terms in recent years, Miels clearly felt a slow and steady approach wasn't going to get the job done. In rolling the dice on such a big transaction, he is undoubtedly taking a risk," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, a British brokerage.

Nuvalent has two late-stage therapies for non-small cell lung cancer that GSK says have "multi-blockbuster potential," the industry parlance for sales of more than $1 billion per year. GSK said the two therapies, targeting non-smoking adults between 40 and 50 years old, could launch as early as this year if approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Nuvalent also has a third asset in Phase 1 trials.

-Steve Goldstein

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06-09-26 0439ET