GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to buy biotech company Sierra Oncology for $1.9 billion as the U.K. drugmaker moves to strengthen its lineup of medicines to fight cancer and prepares to spin off its consumer-health unit.

The pharmaceutical giant will pay $55 per share in cash for California-based Sierra, a maker of targeted therapies for rare forms of cancer, GSK said.

The move is part of Chief Executive Officer Emma Walmsley’s effort to bolster the pharma business as the drugmaker prepares to split with Haleon, the maker of Panadol painkillers and Sensodyne toothpaste, in July. The company, facing pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, has said the separation will strengthen the prospects of both companies.

As GSK focuses on lucrative drugs for cancer, HIV, and other diseases, as well as vaccines, the company is facing questions about its pipeline. While the deal is encouraging, the company needs further steps to build up its stable of novel drugs in advanced stages of development, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

With the Sierra purchase, GSK gains a treatment targeting myelofibrosis, a fatal cancer of the bone marrow impacting the normal production of blood cells. The medicine, called momelotinib, showed promising results in a late-stage study earlier this year and is aimed at helping myelofibrosis patients with anemia, GSK said.

A number of drugmakers such as Sierra have entered a “price range that we think is sensible,” Luke Miels, GSK’s chief commercial officer, said in an interview. “When I look at this transaction we just executed, $1.9 billion for a phase 3-validated, about-to-file oncology asset is a very good price.”

GSK is hunting for more bolt-on deals in areas where the company already has deep understanding of the disease and market, he said. The company bought cancer-drug maker Tesaro Inc. for $5.1 billion in 2018, followed by a $4.2 billion collaboration with Germany’s Merck KGaA.

GSK said it expects the transaction to start contributing to sales next year with significant growth potential in the future. It will likely add to adjusted earnings in 2024, the anticipated first full year of momelotinib’s sales, and the company reiterated its full-year 2022 guidance and medium-term outlook.