The logos of Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, maker of the successful diabetes and weight loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, are seen outside the building as the company presents the annual report at Novo Nordisk in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, February 5, 2025.
Mads Claus Rasmussen | afp | fake images
Metsera on Tuesday he said NordiskNew US bid for anti-obesity biotech 'superior' to revised bid Pfizerintensifying a heated dispute over the startup between the two pharmaceutical giants.
Novo Nordisk's new proposal values Metsera at up to $86.20 per share, for a total of around $10 billion. In a statement, Metsera said that represents a premium of about 159% over its closing price as of September 19, the last trading day before Pfizer announced its proposed acquisition of the company.
Meanwhile, Pfizer's new proposal values Metsera at up to $70 per share, for a total of about $8.1 billion.
Under the terms of the original agreement for Pfizer to acquire Metsera, the pharmaceutical company has two business days to negotiate adjustments to the proposal. If Metsera's board believes that Novo Nordisk's proposal is still better than Pfizer's after that window, Metsera would have the right to terminate the existing merger agreement, according to the statement.
“We believe Novo Nordisk's offer is illusory and cannot constitute a superior proposal under the terms of our merger agreement with Metsera because it violates antitrust law and there is a high risk that it will never be consummated,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during the company's third-quarter earnings call Tuesday.
In a statement on Tuesday, Novo Nordisk confirmed its new offering and said it could maximize the potential of Metsera's complementary medicines portfolio. Novo Nordisk reiterated that the proposal complies with all applicable laws and “is in the best interests of patients who will benefit from our commitment to innovation, as well as Metsera shareholders.”
The new offers come a day after Pfizer filed its second lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Metsera, alleging that the Danish manufacturer's attempt to outbid Pfizer to acquire the biotech company is anti-competitive.
The clash reflects the changing landscape of blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs, with veteran Novo Nordisk now trailing rival Eli Lilly as other companies such as Pfizer rush in.
Metsera, founded in 2022, offers a range of oral and injectable treatments with different targets, including a drug targeting GLP-1 and another targeting another gut hormone called amylin. Both are being studied as possible once-a-month treatments, which would mean they are given less frequently than the weekly injections available on the market.
For Pfizer, Metsera's product portfolio could be the company's golden ticket into this space after having struggled to bring its own anti-obesity products to market over the past few years. Novo Nordisk helped establish the market, but is losing market share Eli Lilly and cheaper imitators and struggling to impress investors with its drug portfolio.
Pfizer said in September it would acquire Metsera for $4.9 billion, or up to $7.3 billion with future payments.
But Novo Nordisk launched a takeover bid on Thursday valuing the biotech at around $6 billion, or up to $9 billion, prompting a four-business-day deadline for Pfizer to renegotiate its offer.
