:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2207639855-4d0c959c160540ad823ed90d2b57e128.jpg "Pfizer Jumps Into Weight-Loss Drug Segment With .3 Billion Metsera Deal")
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Key Takeaways
- Pfizer said it would pay as much as $7.3 billion for Metsera as it looks to profit from soaring demand for weight-loss medicines.
- Metsera investors will get $47.50 per share for each share they own, plus up to an additional $22.50 per share if the biopharma’s combination treatment for obesity meets certain thresholds.
- The news sent Metsera shares soaring in premarket trading.
Metsera (MTSR) shares skyrocketed 60% in premarket trading after Pfizer (PFE) agreed to purchase the biopharma firm for up to $7.3 billion to jump into the lucrative weight-loss drug segment. Shares of Pfizer were up slightly.
Pfizer announced that it would pay $47.50 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of Metsera, a 43% premium to Friday’s closing price. Metsera investors could receive as much as $22.50 more per share “tied to three specific clinical and regulatory milestones” for Metsera’s experimental MET-097i+MET-233i combination obesity treatment.
Pfizer noted that Mesera has a portfolio of weight-loss medicine candidates “aimed at addressing key unmet needs via fewer injections while achieving improved efficacy and tolerability.”
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the acquisition “aligns with our focus on directing our investments to the most impactful opportunities and propels Pfizer into this key therapeutic area.” In April, the company ended development of its experimental danuglipron obesity pill on concerns about potential liver damage.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Shares of Metsera only began trading at the end of January, and are up 25% since then.
