Merck to buy Terns Pharmaceuticals in $6.7B deal

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.

Merck said Wednesday that it intends to buy Terns Pharmaceuticals, the developer of a promising leukemia treatment, for $6.7 billion.

The deal values Terns at $53 per share, or a 6% premium to its Tuesday closing price. Terns’ stock price increased six-fold over the past six months, based on the blockbuster potential of its leukemia drug, called TERN-701, and investor speculation that the company would be an attractive takeover target. 

For Merck, acquiring Terns deepens its cancer drug pipeline as the pharma giant prepares to lose patent protection and revenue from its blockbuster cancer immunotherapy drug Keytruda. 

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