GSK reported a solid second quarter and laid out a sweeping cost-cutting plan, signaling a strategic pivot toward oncology as it prepares for the loss of key HIV patents.
The numbers
Total sales rose 5% year-over-year to £8.4 billion, led by specialty medicines, which jumped 14% to £3.8 billion. GSK's dolutegravir HIV franchise brought in £1.4 billion, with the two-drug therapy Dovato at £749 million and the asthma drug Nucala at £610 million.
Cutting to invest
The company is targeting £1.9 billion (about $2.5 billion) in savings by 2029, with the majority redirected into pipeline acceleration and dealmaking rather than pure margin. The plan involves undisclosed job cuts and includes closing operations in Stevenage while opening a £400 million flagship R&D centre at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The move is “a catalyst for faster, bolder medicines discovery,” said Chief Scientific Officer Tony Wood.
Why it matters
GSK is racing to build an oncology-heavy pipeline — 11 of 20 Phase III studies starting in 2026 are in cancer — before its dolutegravir patents expire between 2028 and 2030, a cliff that threatens a major revenue stream. The quarter suggests the strategy is gaining traction, but the real test is whether the reinvested savings produce approvals fast enough to offset the coming patent losses.