Following the news that Novo Nordisk made an unsolicited acquisition bid for US-based obesity biotech Metsera Therapeutics, which was subsequently rejected by Pfizer, but designated by Metsera as a “Superior Company Proposal” to the one previously agreed between Metsera and Pfizer:

Jay Patel, Senior Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“The fierce bidding war between Novo Nordisk and Pfizer for Metsera underlines big pharma’s confidence in the potential of Metsera’s therapy pipeline, particularly its lead drug candidate, the once-monthly dosed GLP-1 receptor agonist MET-097i, which could offer considerable benefits in patient adherence compared to current once-weekly options.

“Novo Nordisk’s bold play may be motivated by its receding share prices, with rival Eli Lilly eclipsing it in the US obesity drug market in 2025 to take 51% market share and CagriSema’s underwhelming data dampening Novo’s future pipeline prospects.

“However, Pfizer is in an even more pressing position within the obesity market, following the failure of its most advanced obesity therapy, the GLP-1 agonist danuglipron. The competition between the companies for Metsera is likely motivated by their desire to remain relevant in the future obesity market and successfully challenge Lilly’s present dominance.

“The outcome depends on whether Pfizer can successfully renegotiate terms during the four-day period, potentially with a more lucrative offer, or whether Metsera’s Board maintains its determination that Novo Nordisk’s offer is superior despite the legal and regulatory risks Pfizer has highlighted. Though Novo benefits from its significantly higher bid of $9 billion (vs. Pfizer’s maximum bid value of $7.3 billion), Pfizer’s response could resonate with US antitrust authorities, who have oversight over acquisitions of US companies such as Metsera, potentially giving Pfizer the advantage.”