Nuvalent, Inc.

iStock, z_wei GSK is consolidating its vaccine manufacturing operations to one site—located in Canada—amid the pharma’s recent $2.5 billion savings campaign. GSK is shuttering its vaccine manufacturing facility in Germany, a move that will leave some 650 employees jobless. “Following the review, we have taken a difficult decision to propose consolidating operations at one site,” a company spokesperson confirmed to BioSpace over email, referring to the pharma’s recently announced $2.5 billion savings push. The pharma has chosen to retain its Canada plant while letting go of its Dresden campus, the spokesperson said. GSK continues to expect that it “can fully match anticipated future demand in a sustainable and competitive way,” the spokesperson added. GSK’s vaccine business experienced an 8% year-on-year increase in vaccine sales in Q2. This was driven largely by its shingles shot Shingrix, which made £900 million ($1.2 billion) in the quarter, and the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine Arexvy, which surged more than 100% to hit £200 million ($270 million). In July, GSK announced a sweeping cost-cutting campaign to save $2.5 billion over the next three years, an initiative that CEO Luke Miels at the time said would “simplify the organization” and help “reallocate capital and resources” into its late-stage pipeline. Miels confirmed that the cuts would include layoffs, though the pharma hasn’t specified how many employees will be affected in all. In the weeks leading up to the announcement of the savings push, GSK took other steps to slim down. In early July, for instance, the pharma abandoned its neuro partner Alector after back-to-back disappointments, including a Phase 3 dementia fail in October 2025 and a mid-stage Alzheimer’s stumble in April. The companies first linked up in July 2021, with GSK fronting $700 million . A few weeks after cutting Alector loose, GSK pulled the plug on its chronic cough drug camlipixant, which it got from the $2 billion takeover of Bellus Health , following mixed Phase 3 data. The pharma was running the late-stage CALM-1 and CALM-2 studies for camlipixant, with the former meeting its primary goal of lowering cough frequency, while the latter detected no benefit in this metric. Both CALM trials missed key secondary endpoints. The pharma has also posted key wins of late and over the weekend reported positive Phase 3 data for its Hansoh Pharma-partnered risvutatug rezetecan, an investigational antibody-drug conjugate being tested for relapsed small cell lung cancer. And in July, GSK announced that its ROS1 blocker zidesamtinib—which it got from its $10.6 billion buyout of Nuvalent Bio—won FDA approval for certain types of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer Summit, BioNTech, more headline WCLC with next-gen lung cancer drugs BioNTech, Summit Therapeutics, GSK and Roche have made a splash at the ongoing World Conference on Lung Cancer taking place in South Korea. These companies and their partners have all shared new findings for their closely watched programs, highlighting overall survival benefits in various types of lung cancer. September 14, 2026 · 4 min read · Gabrielle Masson Read more

Having recently entered the lung cancer field via the FDA approval of its newly-acquired ROS1 selective inhibitor Jideytro (zidesamtinib), GSK is pushing forward with plans to expand use to include first-line treatment based on new data presented over the weekend at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).Jideytro gained FDA clearance in July for adults with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received a prior ROS1 kinase inhibitor. The decision was based on results from the Phase I/II ARROS-1 trial, in which Jideytro achieved an objective response rate (ORR) of 44% in previously treated patients, rising to 51% in those who received only one prior ROS1 inhibitor.New findings from the study presented at the WCLC showed that in a cohort of patients who were naïve to ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy, Jideytro led to an ORR of 94% after 15.2 months of follow-up, including a 15% complete response rate. Results showed that 90% of participants were progression-free at 12 months, with median progression-free survival (PFS) yet to be reached."Today’s results show a combination of high response rates and a tolerability profile that helped most patients stay on treatment," said Hesham Abdullah, GSK's global head of oncology, R&D.In patients naïve to ROS1 TKI therapy, the most common treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were peripheral oedema, weight increase, blood creatine phosphokinase increase, dysgeusia and AST enzyme increase, although the majority were low grade. GSK noted that TRAEs led to dose reductions in 11% of patients and discontinuations in 1%.The drugmaker, which gained Jideytro through the $10.6-billion purchase of Nuvalent, plans to seek expanded FDA approval before the end of 2026. Meanwhile, a second asset that formed part of the deal, the ALK-selective inhibitor neladalkib, is nearing a Nov. 27 decision deadline for ALK-positive NSCLC (see – Spotlight On: The ASCO moment that sealed GSK's biggest deal in years).

iStock, Nuthawut Somsuk For $110 million upfront, GSK will have the exclusive global right to advance HMPL-A830, which combines an EGFR-targeting antibody with a small-molecule KRAS blocker. The asset will be studied for colorectal, pancreatic and lung cancer. GSK continues to look eastward for novel assets, this time partnering with Hong Kong-based HUTCHMED to develop an investigational cancer therapy. The deal includes a $110 million upfront payment from the pharma, which could also be on the hook for up to $1.185 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, according to a Thursday announcement . HUTCHMED, which also has offices in mainland China and the U.S., will additionally be eligible for royalties on net sales. The star of Thursday’s deal is HMPL-A830, an investigational asset that combines an EGFR-targeting monoclonal antibody with a small-molecule payload designed to inhibit the KRAS protein. This construct, which HUTCHMED calls an antibody-targeted therapy conjugate (ATTC), allows for “synergistic anti-tumor activity,” according to the news release. “The dual KRAS-EGFR mechanism of HMPL-A830 has the potential to significantly improve upon current standard of care,” Hesham Abdullah, global head of Oncology R&D at GSK, said in a prepared statement. The partners will focus initial development efforts on colorectal, pancreatic and lung cancers, with HUTCHMED taking responsibility over Phase 1 studies. Thereafter, GSK will take over all subsequent clinical development. GSK will have worldwide rights over the development and commercialization of HMPL-A830, except for in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, where HUTCHMED retains full control over the asset. The HUTCHMED deal adds to GSK’s growing roster of Asian partners. In January, the pharma paid $20 million upfront and promised up to $265 million in milestones to tie up with South Korea’s Alteogen, gaining access to technology that would allow GSK to create an under-the-skin formulation of its cancer drug Jemperli. Then, in June, the British pharma ponied up $1 billion to swallow China’s Siran Biotechnology, an RNA specialist with an investigational long-acting siRNA therapy called SA030 being positioned as a weight loss therapy. Weight loss GSK goes beyond weight-loss with $1B buyout of Chinese siRNA specialist With Siran Biotechnology under its fold, GSK will have access to a long-acting siRNA therapy that could induce weight loss while preserving lean mass, in addition to addressing other weight-related comorbidities. May 7, 2026 · 2 min read · Tristan Manalac Read more GSK has also inked several other deals this year, including the $2.2 billion takeover of allergy player RAPT Therapeutics in January, which marked CEO Luke Miels’ first major pickup since becoming the company’s top executive in September 2025. In June, GSK acquired Nuvalent Bio, developer of precision oncology assets, for $10.6 billion —a deal that ranks among 2026’s largest so far . Mergers & acquisitions Biopharma strikes 50+ M&As deals in H1, led by Lilly’s $25B spend The total of 52 mergers and acquisitions for the first half of 2026 reflects what analysts, industry watchers and executives are saying over and over: M&A is back. July 1, 2026 · 1 min read · Annalee Armstrong Read more