As GSK weathers the storm of sinking vaccine sales and gears up for key launches in its specialty medicines sector, the British drug giant feels prepared for any challenges that U.S. drug import tariffs may bring.
Over the past week, Big Pharma's earnings season has allowed industry leaders to weigh in on regional drug pricing policies and potential pharmaceutical tariffs. During her company's conference call with analysts on Wednesday, GSK CEO Emma Walmsley took a measured tone and said GSK is ready to utilize "multiple levers" to "both navigate and mitigate" potential pharmaceutical-specific tariffs.
The comments came as the company kept its full-year guidance expectations intact, projecting 6% to 8% growth in its core operating profit this year. During the first quarter of 2025, GSK's total sales climbed 4% to 7.5 billion pounds sterling ($9.74 billion), GSK reported Wednesday.
During a call with reporters early in the day, Walmsley explained that the company has been working “for some time” on potential tariff mitigation strategies, some of which stem from its 2022 consumer healthcare business separation. At the time, GSK put in an “enormous amount of work” resetting its supply chains for “regional resilience” and making “very intentional” choices on where its products are sourced.
Besides bolstering its regional supply chains, the company has made a long-term shift toward higher-margin specialty products, and it has identified certain productivity improvements as one possible tariff countermeasure. In all, Walmsley said the company is “prepared” and has the “agility” needed to respond to potential tariffs.
The U.S., meanwhile, is already the company’s “number one” market for investment, she said, pointing to work that’s just begun on its sixth U.S. manufacturing plant.
Vaccine woes
In GSK's first-quarter earnings report, vaccines were a notable trouble spot. Overall, the group's sales fell 7% to 2.1 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) during the period, with declines seen in the shingles, RSV and established vaccines categories.
The vaccines are struggling for different reasons, but GSK executives reiterated their optimism for long-term vaccine sales performance on the call with analysts.
On the flip side, the company's specialty medicines sector delivered 17% sales growth to 2.93 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) during the quarter. The unit, which markets growth drivers such as HIV and oncology products, should see continued momentum thanks to several near-term launches that GSK has identified.
For one, GSK is gearing up to launch its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) contender Nucala pending the FDA’s May 7 approval decision. It’s a biologic that would be entering a space that hasn’t historically had many drugs in that category, meaning it may “take a bit of time” for practitioners to adjust to the new treatment option, Walmsley said. But GSK is ready to lead the charge and build on its “many, many decades” of respiratory leadership, the CEO added.
Looking to join Nucala in GSK’s collection of approved respiratory disease treatments is depemokimab, which is up for a potential December approval in severe asthma with nasal polyps. The drug has peak annual sales potential of more than 3 billion pounds ($4 billion), the company has said.
Then there's Blenrep, a once-withdrawn multiple myeloma drug that recently won approval in the U.K. and is awaiting an FDA decision in July. The drug is expected to be a “meaningful contributor” to the company's growth throughout the decade, Walmsley noted, marking one aspect of GSK’s “rebuild" in oncology. The drugmaker has put Blenrep’s peak sales estimate at more than 3 billion pounds ($4 billion).
The expected 2025 approvals are important pillars in the company’s 2031 sales goal of more than 40 billion pounds ($53 billion).