ARTICLE | Deals
Merck enters precision immunology via $10.8B Prometheus takeout
December readouts in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease drove up stock price, leading to $200-per-share deal
April 17, 2023 11:13 PM UTC
Prometheus’ shareholders will be rewarded with an acquisition price more than 5x the stock’s value before a pair of December readouts in inflammatory bowel disease that spurred Merck’s decision to pay a high-premium price for a biotech with a differentiated treatment in an emerging class.
The takeout gives Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) a mid-stage asset that also becomes its most advanced immunology program, setting it up to compete with a rival TL1A inhibitor from Roivant Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:ROIV) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), as well as marketed therapies such as JAK-1 inhibitor Rinvoq upadacitinib from AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)...