The bidding war surrounding obesity biotechnology company Metsera is intensifying, with reports indicating that Pfizer... The plan is to raise the offer and negotiate with Novo Nordisk again. compete.
In September, Pfizer made a $7.3 billion takeover bid for Metsera, and the two companies were close to reaching an agreement, but the deal was disrupted last Thursday by Novo Nordisk 's sudden intervention.
Novo Nordisk 's $10 billion offer to acquire Metsera, significantly higher than Pfizer 's price, led Metsera to reject the offer, igniting a fierce competition between the two companies. Pfizer sued Novo Nordisk and Metsera last Friday and filed a second lawsuit this Monday, alleging that Novo Nordisk's acquisition of Metsera constituted anti-competitive issues.
However, on Wednesday, a judge in Delaware, USA, dismissed Pfizer's lawsuit, marking the latest turning point in the bidding war and forcing Pfizer to find new strategies.
Meanwhile, Daniel Guarnera, director of the Bureau of Competition at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, also emphasized in an open letter on Wednesday that the merger structure between Novo Nordisk and Metera could raise anti-competitive issues. He urged the three companies to cooperate and negotiate rather than continue fighting at the risk of being subject to civil penalties every day.
Neither side would give in
Founded in 2022, Metsera is developing a portfolio of oral and injectable therapies targeting different targets and has shown potential for once-monthly dosing in clinical trials, a lower frequency of dosing than weekly dosing of products like Wegovy and Ozempic.
Industry analysts suggest that Metsera's core value lies in its aim to address the pain points of current GLP-1 drugs in terms of efficacy, tolerability, and dosing frequency. However, its two core products, MET-097i and MET-233i, are currently in Phase II clinical trials and have not yet been officially approved for market launch.
The long delay in launching a weight loss drug For Pfizer, a competitor in the market, Metsera is a golden key to entering the weight-loss drug market; for Novo Nordisk, Metsera is a way to enhance its competitiveness and further strengthen its product portfolio to compete with its main rival , Eli Lilly. The key to competition.
Neither company can easily give up Metsera, which has led to a rapidly changing bidding war and could very well determine the future landscape of the $150 billion weight-loss drug market.
However, TD Cowen analyst Michael Nedelcovych pointed out in a report that it is currently unclear whether Metsera's weight-loss drug is significantly different from Novo Nordisk's own drugs. Metsera's value lies primarily in the prospect of once-monthly dosing, but its feasibility has not yet been proven. Coupled with potential regulatory risks and a bidding war, this deal remains to be seen.
On the other hand, Jared Holz, a healthcare equity strategist at Mizuho Healthcare, said that Novo Nordisk's bid for Metsera was driven by both its own interests and the desire to prevent Metsera from falling into the hands of Pfizer or other pharmaceutical companies.
Faced with Novo Nordisk's assertive stance, Pfizer expressed its determination not to yield. Pfizer CFO Dave Denton emphasized on Tuesday that the company will exercise all its legal rights and has many avenues to participate in the bidding, and will not give up. He stated that Pfizer believes its decision to acquire Metsera was correct and will seek all possible means to protect its interests.
(Article source: CLS)
