Gibson Dunn Antitrust Team Advises Merck on $6.7 Billion Acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Firm News | March 25, 2026
A Gibson Dunn antitrust team is advising Merck on its $6.7 billion acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company. The acquisition of Terns builds on Merck’s growing presence in hematology with TERN-701, a potential best-in-class candidate for the treatment of certain patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.
The Gibson Dunn antitrust team includes partners Steve Weissman and Bradley Smith and associates Steve Pet and Mike Buchwald. Weissman and his Gibson Dunn colleagues have advised Merck on a series of transactions over the past decade, including in recent multi-billion dollar acquisitions of Cidara Therapeutics ($9.2 billion), Prometheus Biosciences ($11 billion), Verona Pharma ($10 billion), Acceleron ($11.5 billion), and EyeBio ($3 billion).
Gibson Dunn regularly advises global pharmaceutical companies on antitrust aspects of complex life sciences acquisitions.