Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

GSK plc / Bellus Health Inc.

2023 · Acquisition/Merger · $2.0B · Complete

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Apr 18, 2023 BioPharma Dive Bullish

GSK has agreed to acquire BELLUS Health in a $2 billion deal that will give the British drugmaker a Phase 3 candidate for refractory chronic cough. The primary…

Apr 18, 2023 Reuters Bullish

GSK said on Tuesday it had agreed to acquire Canada's BELLUS Health for $2 billion, adding a late-stage cough drug to the British drugmaker's pipeline as it…

Apr 15, 2026 ClinicalTrials.gov (CALM-2, NCT05600777) Neutral

CALM-2 Phase 3 of BLU-5937 (camlipixant) in refractory chronic cough: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING; estimated primary completion 2026-06-11, study completion…

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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.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
GSK plc / Bellus Health Inc. (this deal)2023$2.0B
GSK plc / SmithKline Beecham2000$12.0B79
GSK plc / Pfizer Inc.2018$0.0M77
GSK plc / Novartis AG2014$16.0B76
GSK plc / Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd.2023$1.7B74
GSK plc / Nuvalent, Inc.2026$10.6B70
GSK plc / Sierra Oncology Inc.2022$1.9B70

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