In the week after this year’s JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, Prometheus Biosciences CEO Mark McKenna got a phone call that would change the biotech’s future. Sunil Patel, Merck’s head of business development and licensing, rang up McKenna on Jan. 19, just a week after McKenna had chatted with execs from Merck, along with five other mid- to large-cap pharma companies at JPM in San Francisco. While all six companies had said they were interested in making a potential deal with Prometheus, none had made any offers. That would change quickly over the next few months, with Merck CEO Rob Davis delivering an initial offer of $150 per share and AbbVie bidding $167.50 per share, culminating in Merck’s winning $10.8 billion offer just a few months later.
Read the full article: Prometheus Reportedly Drew a Competing AbbVie Bid, Initial Partner Interest from 16 Pharmas before Inking $10.8B Merck Buyout //
Source: https://endpts.com/who-tried-to-buy-prometheus-heres-who-looked-before-10-8b-merck-deal