COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The Danish Novo Nordisk launched a proposal on Thursday for the North American biotechnology company Metsera, specialized in obesity, opposing an offer from competitor Pfizer.
The dispute comes amid competition from pharmaceutical companies in the fast-growing and highly competitive weight-loss drug market.
Novo Nordisk, the company behind weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic, offered up to $8.5 billion for Metsera, including $6 billion up front and follow-on payments toward milestones. Pfizer’s offer was US$7.3 billion, including payments for milestones achieved.
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In a statement, Metsera stated that Novo Nordisk’s offer was “superior” and that it had already notified Pfizer, which now has four business days to negotiate. The company said the Danish offer valued Metsera at up to US$77.75 per share, totaling around US$9 billion.
Pfizer said in a statement that Novo Nordisk’s bid was “irresponsible” and would harm competition in the obesity drug market.
Treatments for obesity and diabetes
The move signals an aggressive turn by Novo Nordisk a week after it ousted most of its board of directors due to concerns that the company is not moving quickly enough in the obesity market, where its main rival is Eli Lilly.
The offer also aligns with Novo Nordisk’s new chief executive Mike Doustdar’s pledge to build a robust pipeline of next-generation treatments for diabetes and obesity as the company prepares for the patent expiration of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.
Metsera is one of several companies developing experimental weight-loss drugs, including one that could be taken less frequently than products from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
“The agreement would certainly help Novo Nordisk improve its positioning in the obesity market, provided the products are successfully developed,” Markus Manns, portfolio manager at Union Investment, a mutual fund and shareholder in the Danish company, told Reuters.
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“There are some significant concerns regarding antitrust laws, and it remains to be seen whether Pfizer will submit another offer.”
Pfizer said Novo Nordisk’s proposal carried “substantial regulatory and enforcement risks.”
“This is an attempt by a company with a dominant position in the market to suppress competition, in violation of the law, by taking control of an emerging American competitor,” he stated.
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Novo Nordisk said the deal with Metsera will give it the opportunity to maximize the potential of the US company’s “portfolio and complementary capabilities”.
US$150 billion market
The global obesity drug market is forecast to reach $150 billion by the early 2030s, driven by the rapid adoption of GLP-1 therapies from companies such as Novo Nordisk and Lilly.
Both Pfizer and Novo Nordisk included contingent value rights in their proposals for Metsera, offering additional payments conditional on meeting clinical and regulatory milestones.
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“Novo Nordisk’s competitive offering continues to demonstrate that big pharma is interested in investing in the obesity market,” said BMO analyst Evan Seigerman.
Analyst David Risinger of Leerink Partners projected combined peak sales exceeding $5 billion for Metsera’s products in development.
Metsera shares have risen almost 100% since January this year, going from US$26.50 per share on January 31 to US$52.21 on Wednesday. This Thursday, shares soared more than 22%.
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Metsera, which went public this year and had a market value of $5.5 billion as of Wednesday’s close, has a portfolio of experimental obesity drugs, including MET-097i, a GLP-1 injectable, and MET-233i, which mimics the pancreatic hormone amylin.
(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Maggie Fick; additional reporting by Sriparna Roy; writing by Adam Jourdan)
