GSK shares slump as vaccine sales fall Healthcare GSK shares have fallen the steepest since April, after the British pharmaceuticals giant reported a sharp drop in vaccine sales. The FTSE 100 medicines titan slumped up to five per cent in early trading on Wednesday, as investors looked past the group’s higher-than-expected revenue. The London-based group posted a £8.9bn turnover in the third quarter, [...]
Astrazeneca invests $2bn in cancer drug tie-up Markets Astrazeneca has invested $2bn in US pharmaceutical firm Summit Therapeutics as part of a blockbuster cancer research tie-up. The FTSE 100 drugs giant has agreed to buy 109,000 shares in Nasdaq-listed Summit for $18.36 per share as part of the deal. Shares in Astrazeneca jumped by 1.4 per cent to 12,664p in early trading. The tie-up [...]
Astrazeneca explores $400bn megadeal with US rival Markets Astrazeneca is exploring a $400bn (£300bn) merger with US rival Bristol Myers Squibb, in a deal that would create one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical groups. The FTSE 100 giant has held talks with the US group in recent months about a possible tie-up, according to reports in the Financial Times. Talks could lead to a [...]
Sweeping job cuts at GSK to fund £400m Cambridge campus July 28, 2026 GSK is poised to slash its back office headcount to help fund a £400m mega-campus in Cambridge, in a move it hopes will bolster its drugs pipeline anFd stave off a looming patent cliff-edge. In his first major update as chief executive, Luke Miels unveiled plans to find £1.9bn of savings over the next three [...]
Regulator wins decade-long pricing tussle with Pfizer June 19, 2026 The UK competition watchdog has won permission to appeal in a case against US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer after a long-running legal battle over allegations of excessive pricing, overturning a previous decision by the Tribunal. The court said the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), was “wrong to set aside the [Competition and Market’s Authority’s] decision” in relation to [...]
Boots moves closer to London float but billionaire Westons circle June 16, 2026 With one potential suitor out of the running, high street titan Boots is moving closer to a London float, a move that would mark a return to the FTSE 100 for one of the UK’s biggest retailers and deliver a major boost to UK capital markets. The 177-year-old British pharmacy saw the withdrawal of Sigma [...]
Australian pharma giant Sigma quits Boots takeover talks June 15, 2026 Australian pharmacy giant Sigma has walked away from talks over a £7.5bn private takeover of Boots, renewing hopes that the high street pharmacy could float in London. The Australian firm said on Monday that a deal with Boots would not meet its investment objectives, leaving just the billionaire Weston family in sales talks with the [...]
Boots eyes £7.5bn sale in blow to hopes of London IPO June 10, 2026 The owners of Boots are weighing up a £7.5bn sale which would dash hopes of a London listing and deal another blow to the UK’s stock exchange. Sycamore Partners, the private equity firm which bought Boots’ parent company for $23.7bn last year, has been in talks with a number of suitors since before Easter. The [...]
GSK shares slip after buying US cancer treatment firm Nuvalent for $10.6bn June 9, 2026 Pharma giant GSK has sealed a $10bn deal to snap up Boston-based biopharmaceutical company Nuvalent. The FTSE 100 titan said it will pay $124 per share in cash in the agreement, marking a 40 per cent premium over what Nuvalent’s stock was trading at just before this announcement. The deal is expected to officially close [...]
Astrazeneca ploughs £300m into UK in surprise U-turn April 29, 2026 British drugs giant Astrazeneca has promised to plough £300m into its UK operations, just months after cancelling a nine-figure investment in a new lab after getting in a spat with the UK government over drug pricing. In a stunning volte-face, the UK’s largest pharmaceutical company said it would revive its £200m investment into a megalab [...]