© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Signs are seen at Merck & Co’s corporate headquarters in Kenilworth, New Jersey, US, November 13, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
(Reuters) – Merck & Co. is in late-stage talks to acquire Prometheus Biosciences Inc. for promising immunotherapy treatments, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The sources were quoted as saying that a deal could be announced as soon as Sunday, though they warned that the talks could still collapse.
Prometheus, a clinical-stage biotechnology company that specializes in therapeutic products to treat immunological diseases, had a market capitalization of $5.42 billion as of the end of Friday.
Merck was looking for deals to protect itself from eventual revenue loss as Keytruda’s cancer immunotherapy patents began to expire at the end of the decade.
Merck in February forecast 2023 earnings that fell short of Wall Street estimates and predicted a sharp drop in sales of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment.
Merck and Prometheus did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.