GSK announced on July 28 a $2.5 billion restructuring initiative over the next three years, aiming to simplify its organization and reallocate capital and resources toward its late-stage portfolio and pipeline. The company expects to save £1.9 billion ($2.5 billion) by 2029, with most of the savings reinvested into developing new medicines and improving margins as HIV medicine dolutegravir faces patent expiry in the United States in 2028.
Chief Executive Officer Luke Miels said in a Tuesday earnings release that the restructure will include global job cuts but did not specify how many roles would be affected. “We’re not going to give a number today in terms of people changes, and that’s because I want the chance, and I want my team to have the chance, to discuss this with our people first,” Miels said during a media call. He added, “I think the key theme, as I’ve said, is it’s about reallocation into new medicines, but we will update you in time once we’ve implemented those plans.”
The plan aims to accelerate development across 18 indications for seven main assets with a goal of launching more than 20 Phase 3 trials this year—double what was previously announced. “Less pruning, more acceleration is how I would describe it,” Miels said regarding GSK's strategy shift.
Since announcing the restructuring, GSK shares have risen approximately six percent to around $55 per share as of Tuesday morning Eastern Time. The move comes just seven months after Miels became CEO and follows similar cost-saving initiatives at other major pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Pfizer, Takeda, and Merck.
Additionally, GSK committed £400 million ($531 million) for relocating its flagship research center from Hertfordshire to Cambridge by 2029. In its second-quarter results report released Tuesday, GSK reported revenue of £8.41 billion ($11.1 billion), slightly exceeding expectations while maintaining full-year forecasts for sales growth and earnings per share.
In related research news shared Tuesday, GSK reported positive Phase 3 data for risvutatug rezetecan (Ris-Rez), an antibody-drug conjugate developed with Hansoh Pharma that improved progression-free survival in bone cancer patients who had received at least two prior lines of therapy; no new safety signals were observed during trials conducted in China.
