AbbVie, Bristol Myers Vied for Prometheus Before Merck Bought It

Merck & Co. edged out competitors including AbbVie Inc. and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. to prevail in its $10.8 billion takeover of biotechnology company Prometheus Biosciences Inc, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal gives Merck access to an immunology treatment that it projects will one day generate billions of dollars in revenue, helping it fill a sales gap as its blockbuster drug Keytruda loses exclusivity later this decade.

Representatives for Prometheus, AbbVie and Bristol didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The competition for Prometheus highlights how biotech dealmaking has heated up as products go off patent, ...