How GSK's new CEO lined up a major buyout to start his time at the top

GSK's new CEO Luke Miels has quickly moved to back up GSK's strategy with major acquisitions, including a $2.2 billion buyout of RAPT Therapeutics and a $11 billion acquisition of Nuvalent, both announced within weeks of his taking over as CEO on January 1, 2026.

These deals are part of Miels's stated plan to target bolt‑on M&A in the $2–4 billion range that fill gaps in GSK's respiratory, allergy, oncology, and immunology pipelines, often using assets whose science is already validated but where the current product has liabilities.

The Nuvalent acquisition, in particular, is being positioned as a signature move that signals GSK's ambition to become a stronger player in cancer; the company is paying around $11–$10.6 billion for Nuvalent's two lung‑cancer candidates and a dual‑acting therapy in development, giving investors a 26–40% premium to the prior share price.

Miels told analysts that he is looking for deals that are "hiding in plain sight," meaning fairly priced, under‑the‑radar assets that align with GSK's core therapeutic areas, and he has already signaled that more similar‑sized acquisitions can be expected in the near term.