AstraZeneca is reportedly preparing to bid roughly $10 billion for Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, escalating deal speculation around the metabolic biotech and its commercial weight-loss asset, Imcivree (setmelanotide). The Wall Street Journal cited sources familiar with the matter, saying AstraZeneca offered about $124 per share, after Rhythm’s shares surged on the news. Imcivree’s traction appears central to the interest. The drug won FDA approval in March for acquired hypothalamic obesity (aHO), and Rhythm has positioned that indication as a likely growth driver. Earlier this week, Rhythm reported $92.1 million in global quarterly sales for Imcivree, up 29% quarter over quarter. Rhythm is also planning Phase 3 work in Prader-Willi syndrome, which could broaden the label further. Analysts at William Blair have flagged metabolic “takeout” appeal broadly, noting that GLP-1 therapies do not directly overlap the company’s injectable MC4-pathway positioning. The report follows a period in which Rhythm has been seen as a “hot ticket” because of its focused metabolic biology and late-stage optionality, putting Rhythm back in the center of big-pharma consolidation conversations.