Pfizer said on Monday it would acquire weight-loss drug developer Metsera in a deal valued up to $7.3 billion, including future payments, to secure its position in the lucrative obesity treatment market.<\/p>\n
The global obesity drug market, projected to reach $150 billion by the early 2030s, has boomed over the last few years, driven by the success of highly effective GLP-1-targeting therapies from companies such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly \u2014 both fiercely competing for market dominance.<\/p>\n
Drugmakers have also been racing to develop next-generation treatments for obesity, including drugs that target other hormones and help preserve muscle while losing fat, to establish their presence in the market.<\/p>\n
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Metsera\u2019s acquisition \u201cpropels Pfizer into this key therapeutic area\u201d and would leverage the company\u2019s cardiometabolic expertise and global infrastructure to accelerate next-generation obesity medicines.<\/p>\n
The deal follows Pfizer\u2019s recent setbacks in its own development efforts with weight-loss pill danuglipron.<\/p>\n
The company had scrapped the development of a once-a-day version of danuglipron in April after a trial patient experienced potential drug-induced liver injury, which resolved after the medication was stopped. It had discontinued the development of a twice-daily version in late 2023 due to various side effects.<\/p>\n
The latest deal could be a \u201cmeaningful positive for Pfizer, positioning it with a more robust obesity pipeline that could be differentiated on dosing\u201d, BMO Capital analyst Evan Seigerman said.<\/p>\n
Pfizer will pay $47.50 per share in cash to Metsera, representing a premium of about 43% to the New York-based company\u2019s last close.<\/p>\n
Metsera is also eligible to receive an additional $22.50 per share contingent on the achievement of certain performance milestones. Its shares surged nearly 60% to $53.16 in premarket trading, while Pfizer was up about 2%.
\nThe Financial Times had reported on the deal on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pfizer said on Monday it would acquire weight-loss drug developer Metsera in a deal valued up to $7.3 billion, including future payments, to secure its position in the lucrative obesity treatment market. The global obesity drug market, projected to reach $150 billion by the early 2030s, has boomed over the last few years, driven by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1916,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[537],"class_list":{"0":"post-1915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sitefansalaran-industry-news","8":"tag-pfizer-expands-obesity-drug-pipeline-with-7-3-billion-deal-to-buy-metsera"},"yoast_head":"\n