In a bid to bolster its immunology portfolio, GSK is acquiring food allergy specialist RAPT Therapeutics for up to $2.2bn.
This buyout, which is one of the first major deals of 2026, will see the UK-based pharma pay $58.00 per share at closing, reaching an approximate aggregate equity value of $2.2bn. This will see GSK pay significantly more for each of RAPT’s stocks compared with its closing stock value on 16 January, which sat at $35.10 per share.
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The drug in the spotlight of this deal is long-acting, anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) prophylactic food allergy candidate, ozureprubart – which GSK will gain the global commercial rights to outside of China, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. It is currently being investigated in the Phase IIb prestIgE study (NCT07220811), which is enrolling patients in the US, Australia and Canada. The study is set to read out in 2027.
According to GSK, if ozureprubart were to get the regulatory greenlight in the food allergy indication, it could become a “best-in-class” medication. This is primarily due to its once-quarterly dosing schedule, which sets it apart from other marketed therapies that require dosing once every two-to-four weeks.
Since the deal was announced, RAPT’s stock value is set to climb, with pre-market trading reaching $57.41 (correct at 5.50am ET) from $35.10 at close on 16 January.
It appears that GSK is banking on immunology as a strong area of future growth, as the company previously inked a deal worth up to $12bn with Hengrui Pharma involving immunology, respiratory and oncology assets. The most notable candidate of the deal was PDE3/4 inhibitor HRS-9821, which is being evaluated as a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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By GlobalDataThe pharma also inked a five-year £50m ($54.3m) R&D agreement with the University of Cambridge back in late 2024, which will see the pair collaborate to create new treatments for diseases driven by immune dysfunction.
GSK fortifies pipeline amid looming patent cliff
Across the pharma industry, many companies are gearing up for one of the most prominent patent cliffs in recent years, with several blockbuster therapies set to lose market exclusivity by 2030.
According to GlobalData, parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, the losses set to impact more than half of the top 15 pharma companies could result in a $230bn loss to the US market between 2025 and 2030, meaning companies are keen to offset these losses.
In a presentation at the 44th Annual 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, GSK’s CSO, Tony Wood, noted that the UK-based pharma is hoping to lean on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven, early-stage R&D to strengthen its pipeline and offset losses associated with drug patent expiry.
This multi-billion-dollar acquisition comes just after the curtain closes on this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which was unusually quiet in terms of dealmaking compared with previous years, with the only deals worth over $1bn announced being Boston Scientific’s acquisition of Penumbra and Eli Lilly’s expanded partnership with NVIDIA. Despite this, analysts are optimistic about pharma dealmaking in 2026.
At the start of 2026, AbbVie kicked off the dealmaking proceedings, forging a $5.6bn licensing contract with Chinese pharma RemeGen on 12 January.
