Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Weiss and Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) have scored roles in Vertex's $10bn acquisition of Crinetics, one of the largest pharma deals of the year.
Kirkland is guiding Vertex on the deal, which will see the company add treatments for rare hormonal diseases to its portfolio, with the team led by Boston corporate partners Graham Robinson, Laura Knoll and Merric Kaufman.
Meanwhile Paul Weiss' team is headed by New York corporate partners Stan Richards and Krishna Veeraraghavan, while at MoFo the effort was headed by Jim Krenn, chair of the firm's emerging companies and venture capital practice, and global M&A chair Spencer Klein.
Vertex, a dominant player in cystic fibrosis (CF) medicines, has been looking for other avenues for diversification, according to Reuters. Its acquisition of Crinetics will give it access to treatments that together could generate more than $5bn in annual revenue, the firms said in a statement.
The deal gives Vertex access to Palsonify, the first and only once-daily oral pill approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adults with acromegaly, a rare condition caused by excess growth hormone.
"We believe Vertex can build on the strong momentum of the Palsonify launch by applying our experience in commercialising medicines for rare genetic diseases," Vertex CEO, Reshma Kewalramani, said in a statement.
Crinetic also has an experimental drug, atumelnant, in late-stage development for congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a rare genetic disorder affecting the adrenal glands.
Morgan Stanley and Lazard are acting as financial advisors to Vertex. JP Morgan Securities and Leerink Partners are acting as financial advisors to Crinetics.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026; Vertex expects it to become accretive to adjusted operating income in 2029.
It is the latest in a string of large pharma deals announced this year as large pharmaceutical companies race to diversify and replenish pipelines before impending blockbuster patent cliffs.
Paul Weiss is counselling AbbVie in its acquisition of inflammation-focused biotech Apogee Therapeutics, repped by Kirkland & Ellis, a $10.9bn deal announced last month.
Davis Polk & Wardwell and Slaughter and May have acted for GSK in its $10.6bn acquisition of US cancer drug developer Nuvalent, which is being counselled by Ropes & Gray.
Crinetics' acquisition comes off the back of a record first half for global dealmaking fuelled by a surge of $10bn-plus megadeals. Worldwide M&A activity clocked in at $2.85trn, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), 50% higher than year-prior levels and the best first half since records began in 1980.
Kirkland & Ellis led LSEG's global M&A legal advisor rankings by deal value in the first half of 2026 after working on 350 deals worth just short of $474.5bn, while Paul Weiss placed fifth with $328.5bn of deals. MoFo was not among the top 25 firms included in the rankings.
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