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GSK Bets on Specialty Medicines to Drive Long-Term Revenue Growth
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Key Takeaways
GSK's Specialty Medicines sales rose 14% to GBP 3.2 billion in Q1 2026 on broad-based growth.
GSK expects low double-digit Specialty Medicines sales growth in 2026, backed by key drugs.
GSK sees Specialty Medicines exceeding 50% of total revenues by 2031 on pipeline progress.
GSK plc’s (GSK - Free Report) Specialty Medicines business has become the company's primary growth engine, accounting for more than 40% of total sales and growing at a double-digit rate. The segment spans four core areas: Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation (RI&I), Oncology and HIV.
Sales of the Specialty Medicines unit rose 14% year over year to £3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, driven by double-digit growth in all therapy areas, HIV, RI&I and Oncology.
In the segment, while products like Nucala and Dovato are key top-line drivers, new long-acting HIV medicines, Cabenuva and Apretude, as well as new oncology drugs Jemperli and Ojjaara, are also witnessing strong patient demand and contributing to top-line growth.
GSK’s long-acting injectable medicines, Cabenuva and Apretude, are seeing strong demand trends. Around 25-30% of GSK’s total HIV sales come from new long-acting injectables for treatment and prevention (also called PrEP), an area where GSK maintains a leadership position.
Backed by its existing portfolio of medicines as well as new drugs, GSK expects sales in the Specialty Medicines segment to rise at a low double-digit percentage at CER in 2026.
GSK is also increasing R&D investment in promising new long-acting and specialty medicines in HIV, RI&I and Oncology areas. Some key new product approvals in this segment are Blujepa/gepotidacin for two indications — uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) and uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea — and Exdensur (depemokimab), an ultra-long-acting anti-IL5, for severe asthma in the United States and for both severe asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in the EU, Japan and China. Blenrep combinations were approved for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, Japan and some other countries in 2025. GSK expects Blenrep to be a key growth driver for the next 3-4 years.
Its blockbuster drug Nucala was approved for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, its fifth indication, in the United States in May 2025 and in the EU in February 2026.
Regulatory applications seeking approval of bepirovirsen for chronic hepatitis B and tebipenem pivoxil for complicated UTIs are under review in the United States and some other countries. FDA decisions on these filings are expected in the next six months.
Key pipeline candidates in late-stage development are efimosfermin for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis or MASH, camlipixant for refractory chronic cough and risvutatug rezetecan, a B7-H3 antibody drug conjugate for second-line extensive stage small cell lung cancer.
GSK is also developing innovative ultra-long-acting HIV regimens for treatment and PrEP, which can extend the dosing intervals of the injections. GSK expects to launch twice-yearly long-acting injectables for treatment and PrEP between 2028 and 2030. GSK is also conducting studies to evaluate the use of Blenrep combinations in early treatment lines through the DREAMM clinical program.
Outlook for GSK’s Specialty Medicines Segment
GSK's Specialty Medicines segment is evolving into a diversified growth platform led by Nucala, Benlysta, Jemperli, Blenrep, Ojjaara and its long-acting HIV franchise. Over the next five years, Exdensur, Blenrep, the ADC oncology portfolio, camlipixant, efimosfermin and additional HIV innovations are expected to become the principal drivers of growth. Specialty Medicines, which now accounts for more than 40% of GSK’s sales, is expected to be more than 50% of GSK’s total revenues by 2031, supported by its new product launches and robust pipeline progress.
Competition for GSK’s Specialty Medicines
In the Specialty Medicines segment, most of GSK’s products are up against significant competition from small as well as large pharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) , Merck (MRK - Free Report) , Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) , Gilead, Pfizer, J&J, and Novartis, among others.
Nucala faces increasing competition from biologics such as AstraZeneca’s Fasenra and Sanofi’s Dupixent. In HIV, GSK’s medicines face competition from Gilead and MRK’s drugs. AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck and Lilly are GSK’s key competitors in the oncology space.
GSK’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
GSK stock has declined 0.1% so far this year against the industry’s growth of 0.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
GSK stock is trading at an attractive valuation relative to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 9.87 on a forward 12-month basis, lower than 17.06 for the industry. The stock also trades slightly below its 5-year mean of 9.92.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has risen from $4.83 to $4.84 per share for 2026, while that for 2027 has risen from $5.13 to $5.14 per share over the past 30 days.
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GSK Bets on Specialty Medicines to Drive Long-Term Revenue Growth
Key Takeaways
GSK plc’s (GSK - Free Report) Specialty Medicines business has become the company's primary growth engine, accounting for more than 40% of total sales and growing at a double-digit rate. The segment spans four core areas: Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation (RI&I), Oncology and HIV.
Sales of the Specialty Medicines unit rose 14% year over year to £3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, driven by double-digit growth in all therapy areas, HIV, RI&I and Oncology.
In the segment, while products like Nucala and Dovato are key top-line drivers, new long-acting HIV medicines, Cabenuva and Apretude, as well as new oncology drugs Jemperli and Ojjaara, are also witnessing strong patient demand and contributing to top-line growth.
GSK’s long-acting injectable medicines, Cabenuva and Apretude, are seeing strong demand trends. Around 25-30% of GSK’s total HIV sales come from new long-acting injectables for treatment and prevention (also called PrEP), an area where GSK maintains a leadership position.
Backed by its existing portfolio of medicines as well as new drugs, GSK expects sales in the Specialty Medicines segment to rise at a low double-digit percentage at CER in 2026.
GSK’s Specialty Medicines Segment’s Robust Pipeline Progress
GSK is also increasing R&D investment in promising new long-acting and specialty medicines in HIV, RI&I and Oncology areas. Some key new product approvals in this segment are Blujepa/gepotidacin for two indications — uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) and uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea — and Exdensur (depemokimab), an ultra-long-acting anti-IL5, for severe asthma in the United States and for both severe asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in the EU, Japan and China. Blenrep combinations were approved for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, Japan and some other countries in 2025. GSK expects Blenrep to be a key growth driver for the next 3-4 years.
Its blockbuster drug Nucala was approved for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, its fifth indication, in the United States in May 2025 and in the EU in February 2026.
Regulatory applications seeking approval of bepirovirsen for chronic hepatitis B and tebipenem pivoxil for complicated UTIs are under review in the United States and some other countries. FDA decisions on these filings are expected in the next six months.
Key pipeline candidates in late-stage development are efimosfermin for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis or MASH, camlipixant for refractory chronic cough and risvutatug rezetecan, a B7-H3 antibody drug conjugate for second-line extensive stage small cell lung cancer.
GSK is also developing innovative ultra-long-acting HIV regimens for treatment and PrEP, which can extend the dosing intervals of the injections. GSK expects to launch twice-yearly long-acting injectables for treatment and PrEP between 2028 and 2030. GSK is also conducting studies to evaluate the use of Blenrep combinations in early treatment lines through the DREAMM clinical program.
Outlook for GSK’s Specialty Medicines Segment
GSK's Specialty Medicines segment is evolving into a diversified growth platform led by Nucala, Benlysta, Jemperli, Blenrep, Ojjaara and its long-acting HIV franchise. Over the next five years, Exdensur, Blenrep, the ADC oncology portfolio, camlipixant, efimosfermin and additional HIV innovations are expected to become the principal drivers of growth. Specialty Medicines, which now accounts for more than 40% of GSK’s sales, is expected to be more than 50% of GSK’s total revenues by 2031, supported by its new product launches and robust pipeline progress.
Competition for GSK’s Specialty Medicines
In the Specialty Medicines segment, most of GSK’s products are up against significant competition from small as well as large pharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) , Merck (MRK - Free Report) , Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) , Gilead, Pfizer, J&J, and Novartis, among others.
Nucala faces increasing competition from biologics such as AstraZeneca’s Fasenra and Sanofi’s Dupixent. In HIV, GSK’s medicines face competition from Gilead and MRK’s drugs. AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck and Lilly are GSK’s key competitors in the oncology space.
GSK’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
GSK stock has declined 0.1% so far this year against the industry’s growth of 0.5%.
GSK stock is trading at an attractive valuation relative to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 9.87 on a forward 12-month basis, lower than 17.06 for the industry. The stock also trades slightly below its 5-year mean of 9.92.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has risen from $4.83 to $4.84 per share for 2026, while that for 2027 has risen from $5.13 to $5.14 per share over the past 30 days.
GSK has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.