January 25th - Merck & Co. has terminated negotiations to acquire Revolution Medicines, a biotech firm focused on oncology drug research and development, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper stated that the two parties shelved the talks after failing to reach a consensus on the acquisition price. However, it does not rule out the possibility of resuming negotiations at a later date or other bidders entering the fray to bid for Revolution Medicines.

At present, the above report has not been verified. Merck & Co. and Revolution Medicines could not be immediately reached for comment by the media as the announcement fell during off-hours.

Earlier, at the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Revolution Medicines – which was then at the center of acquisition rumors – saw its CEO Mark Goldsmith decline to comment on any rumors or speculation surrounding potential merger and acquisition talks. He stated clearly, "Our goal is to build a highly impactful enterprise, and the company is in a strong development position right now." Merck & Co. also made no mention of the matter at the conference.

Earlier this month, the Financial Times revealed that Merck & Co. was in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines, a deal valued at between $28 billion and $32 billion.

Had the acquisition been completed, Merck & Co. would have gained access to Revolution Medicines' investigational drug Daraxonrasib, which is currently in late-stage clinical trials and has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Revolution Medicines focuses on its RAS(ON) platform, developing therapies for tumors driven by RAS mutations – such tumors account for approximately 30% of all cancers. RAS was once regarded as an "undruggable" target, and the company’s innovative RAS(ON) inhibitors have broken through this bottleneck.
Its lead drug candidate, Daraxonrasib, is a pan-RAS inhibitor currently undergoing registrational studies for a variety of pancreatic and lung cancers, with the pancreatic cancer indication having been granted Priority Review by the FDA Commissioner.
According to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Revolution Medicines currently has a market capitalization of approximately $22.7 billion.