Merck & Co Inc is to expand its oncology portfolio with the acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc of Foster City, California, US. Announced on 25 March, the deal will give Merck an early-clinical stage small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, TERN-701, for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). The target is an abnormal fusion gene which drives the growth of cancer cells in both CML and some types of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
