Merck In Advanced Talks To Buy Terns Pharma For $6 Bln: FT Reports

(RTTNews) - Drug major Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) is in advanced talks to reach nearly $6 billion all-cash deal to buy Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TERN), which develops treatments for a rare form of blood and bone cancer, The Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Following the news, Terns Pharma shares were climbing around 12% in the overnight trading, to $55.97, after closing Tuesday's regular trading 0.8 percent higher at $50.00.

In the overnight trading, Merck is up 0.5 percent, at $116.99, after closing Tuesday 0.6 percent higher.

As per the report, the companies could reach a deal in the coming days, while Bloomberg reported that a deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday.

With the acquisition of Terns Pharma, which last year announced promising clinical data on its bone and blood cancer treatment, Merck expects to boost its cancer drug portfolio. The move comes as its blockbuster oncology drug Keytruda, which makes more than $30 billion a year, comes off patent as soon as 2028.

Terns Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of small-molecule product candidates to address serious diseases, including oncology and obesity. The company's lead cancer drug candidate is TERN-701, which is in development for the treatment of relapsed/refractory chronic myeloid leukemia, under a phase 1 trial, dubbed CARDINAL.

Last year, Merch bought respiratory drugmaker Verona Pharma for $10 billion and flu-prevention biotech Cidara Therapeutics for $9.2 billion.

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