NEW YORK – Royalty Pharma plc said on Tuesday it acquired a royalty interest in two of Nuvalent Inc’s experimental lung cancer therapies for up to $315 million, betting on the drugs’ multi-billion dollar sales potential.
The deal gives the royalty investment firm a low-single-digit percentage of worldwide net sales for neladalkib and zidesamtinib, next-generation treatments for specific types of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The royalty stream is expected to run through approximately 2041-2042.
Neladalkib, for ALK-positive NSCLC, recently reported positive pivotal results in patients who had failed on earlier therapies and is now in a Phase 3 trial for newly diagnosed patients. Zidesamtinib, for ROS1-positive NSCLC, is under U.S. Food and Drug Administration review with a decision date of September 18, 2026, for pretreated patients.
Analyst consensus projects peak sales for neladalkib at roughly $3.5 billion and for zidesamtinib at $1.9 billion by 2035, according to Royalty Pharma’s statement.
“The acquisition of royalties on these next-generation TKIs aligns with our strategy of funding innovation in areas of high unmet medical need,” a Royalty Pharma spokesperson said in the release.
The company acquired the pre-existing royalty interest from an undisclosed third party. Legal advisors on the transaction included Covington & Burling, Dechert and Maiwald.
Royalty Pharma, founded in 1996, is the largest buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties, with a portfolio including stakes in more than 35 commercial products like Vertex’s Trikafta and Gilead’s Trodelvy.