US pharmaceutical giant MSD is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire biotech firm Terns Pharmaceuticals, the Financial Times reported, citing sources. The deal could be worth around $6bn, according to the newspaper’s sources. An agreement is expected to be finalised in the coming days. Following the news of the potential deal, Terns Pharmaceuticals’ shares rose about 10% in after-hours trading.
FT sources noted that a final agreement has not yet been reached and that talks could still end without a deal. Representatives for both companies have not yet provided official comment on the negotiations.
MSD’s interest is linked to the experimental drug TERN-701, which Terns Pharmaceuticals is developing to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia. According to data presented at the American Society of Hematology conference last year, more than half of patients with a resistant form of the disease showed significant improvement within 24 weeks of treatment.
The talks come as MSD reshapes its oncology strategy. The company is actively building a dedicated cancer division centred around its key drug Keytruda, which generates around $30bn in annual revenue. The drug’s patent protection expires in 2028.
In 2025, MSD announced it had struck a deal to acquire British biopharmaceutical company Verona Pharma, which specialises in respiratory disease therapies, for approximately $10bn. This was one of the largest deals in the industry in 2025 and the biggest agreement for MSD since 2023, when it acquired Prometheus Biosciences for $10.8bn.
Terns Pharmaceuticals specialises in developing treatments for chronic myeloid leukaemia. Since the start of the year, the company’s shares have gained about 50% from the low recorded on 12 January. MSD’s own shares have risen 11% since the start of the year, and the corporation’s market capitalisation has reached $288bn.
