Nuvalent, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by GSK for $10.6bn.
Nuvalent is a clinical-stage precision oncology company founded in 2017 by investment firm Deerfield Management in collaboration with chemical biologist and Harvard University professor Matthew Shair. The company is led by CEO James Porter.
Deerfield funded the entirety of the company’s $50m Series A beginning in 2018 before it emerged out of stealth in January 2021. Deerfield supported a $135m Series B in May 2021 and Nuvalent launched a public offering in July of that same year.
“When we seeded Nuvalent, we saw the building blocks of an incredible opportunity – cutting-edge scientific technology tailored to address a critical unmet need in oncology, combined with smart and capable investigators who were prepared to work hand in hand with us to identify and test critical hypotheses,” said Cam Wheeler, partner at Deerfield and board member at Nuvalent.
“Once it became clear what Nuvalent’s technology had the potential to do for patients, we supported the company in moving quickly into the clinic.”
“Nuvalent was founded on a compelling scientific premise – that by combining expertise in structure-based small molecule design with key clinical insights from physician-scientists, the company could design highly selective ROS1 and ALK inhibitors that are able to overcome both drug resistance and toxicity,” said Joe Pearlberg, VP, scientific affairs at Deerfield and board member at Nuvalent.
“We are delighted to see this approach come to fruition for patients.”
With two late-stage, potential best-in-class, next-generation, highly selective ROS1 and ALK inhibitors for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, Nuvalent is advancing a pipeline of additional small molecules with the goal of overcoming resistance, minimising adverse events, addressing brain metastases, and driving more durable responses for patients in need.
Deerfield said it believes that advancing healthcare often requires more than a for-profit investment model can provide. For that reason, all profits from Deerfield’s Healthcare Innovation Fund (which invested in Nuvalent) that would otherwise flow back to the firm will be donated to the Deerfield Foundation, a private, not-for-profit organisation founded, funded, and run by Deerfielders. Pursuant to this transaction, the foundation is expected to receive upwards of $200m.
“Since its inception in 2005, the Deerfield Foundation has sought to harness the experience, generosity, and commitment of Deerfielders to improve the lives of patients and families, particularly children in need of better healthcare,” said Alexis Cazé, president of the Deerfield Foundation.
“This transformative infusion of capital creates a unique opportunity and responsibility to build a philanthropy platform capable of advancing healthcare thoughtfully, ambitiously, and at meaningful scale.”