Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
GSK agreed to acquire BELLUS Health for $14.75/share in cash, total equity value ~$2.0B. Adds Phase 3 camlipixant, a selective P2X3 antagonist for refractory chronic cough, positioned as late-phase rival to Merck's gefapixant. Closed June 2023. Post-close review (2026): the camlipixant Phase 3 program remains on track — CALM-1 (NCT05599191) and CALM-2 (NCT05600777) are both active-not-recruiting, with CALM-1 primary completion estimated Dec 2025 and CALM-2 mid-2026 per ClinicalTrials.gov. The original competitive thesis has strengthened: lead P2X3 rival gefapixant (Merck) received a second FDA Complete Response Letter on Dec 21, 2023, leaving camlipixant as the most advanced unpartnered path to a first U.S.-approved refractory-chronic-cough therapy.