Merck Acquires Much Needed Diversification With $10.8bn Prometheus Buy

$200 Per Share Buyout Is 75% Premium

Merck will reduce its dependence on oncology and expand in immunology, adding a Phase III-ready TL1A inhibitor for IBD that could reach the market a few years ahead of losing exclusivity for Keytruda.

Pain in human intestines, bowel concept — PRA023 will move into Phase III in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in late 2023 or early 2024 • Source: Shutterstock

Merck & Co., Inc. has agreed to pay $10.8bn for Prometheus Biosciences, Inc. and its Phase III-ready TNF-like ligand 1A (TL1A) inhibitor PRA023, which showed promising efficacy in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) indications late last year. The deal gives Merck a potential blockbuster immunology asset that may help it make up for some of the revenue it will lose at the end of this decade after its top-selling product Keytruda (pembrolizumab) loses exclusivity.

Analysts cheered the deal, announced 16 April, despite the high price tag, as a means of diversifying the big pharma’s...

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