Nuvalent, Inc.
A maker of precisely targeted cancer medicines, Nuvalent designs small-molecule drugs to treat non-small cell lung cancer, including versions that reach the brain and defeat resistance to existing treatments. Founded in 2017 in Cambridge, Massachusetts by a Harvard chemistry professor with backing from an investment firm, the company's name plays on the chemistry idea of "valency," the combining power of atoms. Its lead drug candidates, Zidesamtinib and NVL-655, target ROS1- and ALK-positive tumors; in 2026 the company was acquired by the global drugmaker GSK.