Merck & Co. has completed its $5.3-billion acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on oncology.  The deal was announced in March 2026. 

Terns’ lead candidate, TERN-701, is an investigational oral drug for treating chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Specifically it is an allosteric BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) currently being evaluated in a Phase I/II trial for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+), chronic phase CML previously treated with at least one prior TKI and who experienced treatment failure, suboptimal response, or treatment intolerance. In March 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug designation for TERN-701 for the treatment of CML.  

Source: Merck & Co.