Merck & Co. To Acquire Terns Pharma For $6.7 Billion

On March 25, 2026, Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) (NYSE:MRK) came into the limelight when Reuters reported that the company had agreed to buy Terns Pharma for $6.7 billion. The move comes as the company looks to expand its cancer pipeline amid concerns surrounding the looming patent loss for blockbuster therapy Keytruda.

By the end of this decade, Merck & Co., Inc. is expected to lose patent protection for the therapy.

The move is part of Merck’s threefold expansion of its late-stage pipeline since 2021, which is supported by in-house development and major deals. Previously, the company acquired Acceleron, gaining access to the pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Winrevair for $11.5 billion.

The transaction represents a 6% premium to the stock’s last close, settling at $53 per share. Following the announcement, a 5.5% share price gain was noted by the end of the day’s session.

The deal provides Merck & Co., Inc. with access to Terns Pharma’s TERN-701, an experimental drug being tested as a treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia. The deal is expected to close by Q2 2026.

Merck & Co., Inc., a healthcare company, provides health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of MRK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame.