HQ Team
March 25, 2026: Merck & Co will buy Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company, for $6.7 billion to pocket an investigational drug to treat a type of blood cancer, according to a statement.
The Rahway, New Jersey-based company will acquire Terns for $53.00 per share in cash for an approximate equity value of $6.7 billion.
This translates to about $5.7 billion net of acquired cash and represents an approximate premium of 31% to the 60-day and 42% to the 90-day volume-weighted average stock price on March 24, 2026.
The transaction is expected to be accounted for as an asset acquisition and close in the second quarter of 2026.
‘Philadelphia chromosome’
Terns’ main drug candidate, TERN-701, is designed to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia – a type of blood cancer – in patients who have the ‘Philadelphia chromosome,’ a common genetic change in this cancer.
These patients have already tried at least one other similar cancer medicine (called a TKI), but it either stopped working, didn’t work well enough, or caused side effects they couldn’t tolerate.
TERN-701 is currently being tested, and in March 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration gave it an Orphan Drug Designation. This is a special status the FDA gives to medicines that treat rare diseases, to encourage companies to develop them.
Chronic myeloid leukaemia is a slow-growing type of blood cancer that leads to an overproduction of white blood cells that accumulate in the blood and bone marrow, disrupting the production of healthy blood cells. The Philadelphia chromosome is a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22 that results in constitutive activation of the BCR::ABL1 fusion protein, which fuels cancer growth.
White blood cells in abundance
Inside our cells, some genes act like instruction manuals. In people with chronic myeloid leukaemia, two normal genes – called BCR and ABL1 – get broken and stuck together wrongly. When these two genes fuse, they create a new, abnormal “hybrid” gene.
This hybrid gene then produces a weird protein called the BCR::ABL1 fusion protein. This fusion protein acts like a stuck “On” switch. It constantly tells the bone marrow cells to grow and divide without stopping. That’s what causes the cancer – too many white blood cells are produced uncontrollably.
“The acquisition of Terns builds on our growing presence in haematology with TERN-701, a potential best-in-class candidate for the treatment of certain patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia,” said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck.
“This transaction further diversifies and strengthens our position in oncology as we continue to look for opportunities to broaden our portfolio into other therapeutic areas.”
Merck & Co is preparing for the patent loss of its blockbuster drug, Keytruda, in 2028. The therapy accounted for more than nearly half of its revenue in 2025.
Better disease control
“The first approval of a BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor 25 years ago transformed the prognosis for many patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia,” said Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories.
“Despite new therapeutic options, there is a significant need for innovative, well-tolerated therapies with faster time to onset of molecular response leading to deeper responses and better disease control.”
“Based on early clinical evidence, TERN-701, a novel allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor, may have the potential to provide a meaningfully differentiated option for certain patients living with chronic myeloid leukaemia,” he said.
