New York, March 25, 2026, 09:05 EDT
Merck is set to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals in a $6.7 billion cash deal, offering $53 per share, the companies said Wednesday. The move hands Merck an experimental leukemia drug and underlines its push into oncology. The announcement followed a Financial Times report earlier in the day that discussions were already advanced.
Timing is crucial here. Merck’s blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda faces some patent expirations in 2028. In 2025, Keytruda pulled in over $30 billion—almost half of Merck’s total revenue—so investors are watching closely for signs of what comes next. The company is racing to lock down fresh sources of growth.
Merck put the net value of the offer at roughly $5.7 billion, accounting for Terns’ own cash. Structurally, the deal goes via a tender offer, so Merck’s merger vehicle will approach shareholders directly to buy shares, according to an SEC filing. Antitrust sign-off is still pending, as is backing from holders of more than 50% of Terns’ shares. Merck aims to wrap things up in the second quarter and expects to take a charge of around $5.8 billion.
What Merck’s after here is TERN-701—an oral therapy still in the early stages for chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer affecting blood and bone marrow. Reuters put the response rate for the drug at 75% among patients who’d already been treated. Merck’s research head, Dean Li, described the initial results as pointing to a potentially distinct treatment route for certain patients.
If the data stands, Merck might find itself going head-to-head with Novartis in a specialized, yet pivotal segment of blood-cancer therapy—one where Scemblix already holds significant ground. William Blair’s Andy Hsieh pointed to “unequivocal improvement in both efficacy and safety” for TERN-701. Over at RBC, analyst Trung Huynh described the acquisition as “strategically sound and incrementally positive.” BioPharma Dive
The premium on the headline barely stood out from Tuesday’s close. Reuters pegged Merck’s $53 bid at just a 6% bump over the previous finish. Terns shares gained 5.5% in premarket trading after the news hit. Merck, for its part, pointed to a 31% premium against the 60-day average and 42% over the 90-day average.
That twist isn’t lost on investors. Huynh flagged that the narrow premium “could open the door” for other bidders. TERN-701, meanwhile, hasn’t cleared the early clinical stage—plenty of cancer hopefuls have faltered once studies ramp up. The deal still needs a regulatory nod, and shareholders have to weigh in through the tender offer. BioPharma Dive
Merck keeps adding to its shopping list, with Terns becoming the latest name after a string of deals aimed at blunting the Keytruda patent cliff. In July 2025, Merck snapped up Verona Pharma for around $10 billion. Then, in November, it struck a deal for Cidara Therapeutics at close to $9.2 billion. The company continues to push past oncology, though cancer is still core to its pitch.
Merck’s been overhauling its org chart, too. The company announced last month that it’s carving its human-health operations into two groups—one focused on oncology, the other on everything else. The move underscores cancer’s prominence in Merck’s playbook, even as it looks for new revenue streams beyond Keytruda.
