Vertex to acquire Crinetics for $85 a share in $10 billion deal

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals announced on July 6, 2026 that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Vertex will acquire Crinetics for $85.00 per share in cash, for a total equity value of approximately $10.0 billion, or approximately $8.8 billion net of estimated cash acquired.¹ The transaction was unanimously approved by both the Vertex and Crinetics Boards of Directors and is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2026.¹

The deal centers on two assets. Crinetics' marketed medicine, PALSONIFY (paltusotine), received FDA approval in September 2025 and is the first and only once-daily oral therapy for adults with acromegaly, a rare condition caused by a pituitary tumor that secretes excess growth hormone, affecting an estimated 20,000 diagnosed people in the U.S.¹ PALSONIFY was recently approved by the European Medicines Agency and is under review by other global regulatory bodies.¹

The pipeline candidate is atumelnant. It is a once-daily oral adrenocorticotropic hormone receptor antagonist currently in Phase 3 development for congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a rare genetic condition affecting the adrenal glands with 17,000 addressable patients in the U.S.¹ In Phase 2 studies, patients taking atumelnant achieved near normalization of excess androgen levels on physiologic replacement doses of glucocorticoids, and the drug was generally well tolerated with no treatment-related severe or serious adverse events to date.¹

On financial terms, the companies said these assets have the potential to deliver more than $5 billion in combined peak annual revenue, and the transaction is expected to become accretive to non-GAAP operating income in 2029.¹ Vertex expects to finance the acquisition using a combination of cash on hand and debt, supported by $4.5 billion of fully committed bridge financing from Bank of America, N.A.¹ and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc.

The merger agreement includes a termination fee. The Company may be required to pay Parent a termination fee of $350,474,425 under specified circumstances, including a termination to accept a Superior Company Proposal.¹ Closing is subject to conditions including majority shareholder approval and antitrust clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.¹