1️⃣ Roche bought the AI layer for pathology
Roche agreed to acquire PathAI for $750M upfront and up to $300M in milestones. PathAI will sit inside Roche Diagnostics after closing, expected in H2 2026.
💡 Why it matters
This is diagnostics M&A with companion-diagnostic leverage. Roche is buying workflow, AI analysis and biomarker discovery capacity, not another scanner.
☕ Coffee talk
If pathology software becomes part of the companion-diagnostic stack, who still gets to call it just infrastructure?
2️⃣ Pathos bought control of a clinical MET asset
Pathos AI acquired a majority stake in DeuterOncology, adding DO-2, a phase 1 third-generation MET kinase inhibitor for MET-altered cancers.
💡 Why it matters
The asset is early, but the angle is concrete: an oncology platform using its own model to pick and buy clinical assets, then run development around them.
☕ Coffee talk
Does this prove AI can source oncology assets, or just that someone finally bought a decent MET program with better tooling?
3️⃣ Merck closed the Terns bet
Merck completed its acquisition of Terns after a $53-per-share tender offer, taking in TERN-701, an oral allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor for CML.
💡 Why it matters
This turns a March deal into owned pipeline. Merck is accepting a near-term R&D charge to add a hematology asset with Breakthrough Therapy status.
☕ Coffee talk
How many more early oncology assets does Merck need before Keytruda feels less like the clock in the room?