Merck Acquires Terns Pharma for $5.7 Billion in Cash

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) entered a merger agreement on March 25, 2026, to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (TERN) in an all-cash deal valued at $5.7 billion.

Deal Structure:

Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire Terns for $53 per share in cash, representing a premium of 6% from the stock’s last close.

Company Profile:

Terns is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops small-molecule therapies for cancer and metabolic diseases such as NASH and obesity. It is advancing multiple drug candidates, including TERN-701 for chronic myeloid leukemia and other early-stage programs targeting liver and metabolic conditions.

Merck is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. It operates across pharmaceutical and veterinary segments, serving healthcare providers, governments, and animal health markets worldwide.

Deal Details and Timeline:

Terns’ main drug candidate, TERN-701, is a new oral medicine being studied for treating a type of blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). It works by targeting a specific protein (BCR::ABL1) that drives the disease.

It is currently being tested in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial called CARDINAL for patients with a certain form of CML (Philadelphia chromosome-positive) who have already tried at least one previous treatment but did not respond well, stopped responding, or could not tolerate it.

In March 2024, the U.S. FDA gave TERN-701 Orphan Drug Designation, which is a special status to support the development of treatments for rare diseases like CML.

So far in clinical trials, TERN-701 has shown encouraging results. Many patients responded well to the treatment by 24 weeks, including those with more advanced disease who had already tried several other treatments, even similar types of drugs.

Most side effects seen during treatment were mild, with few serious side effects or patients needing to stop the treatment. There were no important changes in blood pressure, and only a small number of patients showed increased lipase levels.

The deal will close in the second quarter of 2026.

Centerview Partners and Jefferies acted as financial advisors to Terns for the transaction, while Freshfields provided legal counsel.

Deal Metrics:

For a more comprehensive analysis of this M&A transaction, you can navigate to the Deal Metrics page here:

Deal Metrics for the acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (TERN) by Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

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Editor’s Note: Baranjot Kaur contributed to this article