Key facts
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals will acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for approximately $10 billion in cash.
- The acquisition includes Crinetics' marketed drug PALSONIFY and its Phase 3 candidate atumelnant.
- PALSONIFY is a once-daily oral therapy for adults with acromegaly.
- Atumelnant is an ACTH receptor antagonist in Phase 3 development for congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
- The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies' boards of directors.
- The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for approximately $10 billion in cash, or $8.8 billion net of estimated cash acquired. The deal, which was unanimously approved by both companies' boards, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
Crinetics brings to Vertex a portfolio of endocrinology assets, including its recently launched drug PALSONIFY (paltusotine) for acromegaly and its Phase 3 candidate atumelnant, an ACTH receptor antagonist for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Vertex anticipates these assets could generate peak sales of around $5 billion.
PALSONIFY, approved by the FDA in September 2025 and subsequently by the EMA, is the first and only once-daily oral therapy for adults with acromegaly. Crinetics reports strong early commercial momentum for the drug.
Atumelnant has demonstrated potential in Phase 3 trials to normalize androgen levels and manage patients with physiologic levels of glucocorticoids in CAH, a rare genetic condition. It has also shown therapeutic potential in Cushing's syndrome. Vertex believes its pipeline will be accelerated by this acquisition, enhancing its revenue growth and long-term earnings profile.