STAT+: Pharmalittle: Merck to acquire Prometheus Biosciences for $10.8 billion; mRNA cancer vaccine reduces melanoma relapse

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and refreshing, because that oh-so familiar routine — online meetings, deadlines, and what-not — has predictably returned. But be honest — this is hardly a surprise, yes? So to fortify ourselves, we are firing up the coffee kettle and brewing a needed cup of stimulation. Our choice today is salted caramel mocha, a reminder, for us, anyway, of the Jersey shore. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are a few tidbits to help you start your engines. Hope that all goes well today and that you conquer the world. …

Merck plans to acquire Prometheus Biosciences for $10.8 billion, adding a pipeline of experimental drugs to treat immune-related diseases, STAT writes. For Merck, acquiring Prometheus is part of a corporate strategy to bolster its research pipeline and introduce new medicines before its Keytruda blockbuster cancer therapy loses patent protection in 2028. The centerpiece of the transaction is a Prometheus drug called PRA023, which is being developed for inflammatory bowel diseases — chronic conditions in which a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells, tissues, or organs.

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