Merck Acquires Terns Pharmaceuticals for $6.7B, Focuses on CML Treatment
Clear Street says Merck's (MRK) $6.7B acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals' (TERN) TERN-701 underscores the unmet need and opportunity for safer, more effective chronic myeloid leukemia therapies despite generics and signals growing interest in CML beyond Novartis (NVS). Merck indicated that the $6.7B valuation is driven primarily by the U.S. market, reinforcing Novartis' over $9B CML market projection. In this context, Enliven's (ELVN) ELVN-001 is a high-potential, ATP-binding site TKI with a best-in-class profile, offering a complementary mechanism to the allosteric approaches of asciminib and TERN-701 and multiple strategic paths to value, the firm argues. Clear sees ELVN-001 as a lower-risk, high-upside asset. The Phase 3 ENABLE-2 trial of ELVN-001 in second line and beyond CML remains on track for the second half of 2026 initiation, pending FDA alignment on dose selection and trial design.
