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Pfizer has matched Novo Nordisk’s offer to buy weight-loss drug start-up Metsera for up to $10bn, in the latest escalation of a dramatic bidding war over the coveted US biotech.
The US drugmaker submitted its sweetened bid, which matches Novo’s offer from Tuesday valuing Metsera at $86.20 a share, ahead of a deadline on Wednesday, keeping it in the race for the anti-obesity biotech, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Pfizer’s latest bid would be largely in upfront cash alongside further payments when certain clinical milestones are achieved, according to the people. It is the latest development in a back-and-forth battle between the US drugmaker and its Danish rival over the biotech.
At stake in the takeover battle is a biotech with a pipeline of weight-loss drugs, including a monthly injectable, which could give any acquirer a potential edge in the lucrative weight-loss drug market.
Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk is one of the dominant players in obesity drugs alongside Eli Lilly, while Pfizer is trying to become a competitor in what is forecast to become a $100bn market by the end of the decade.
Novo last week went public with an unsolicited offer to buy Metsera, aimed at gatecrashing Pfizer’s earlier agreement with the biotech in September, sparking a fierce takeover battle that has spread to the courtroom.
Pfizer sued to halt Novo’s overture to Metsera, arguing its unusual, two-step structure to pay the biotech almost immediately upon signing was illegal. At a crucial hearing on Wednesday, a Delaware judge rejected Pfizer’s arguments.
After the judge’s ruling, Pfizer insisted it still planned to fight Novo’s bid to gatecrash its deal in the courts.
“Pfizer intends to continue to pursue its claims vigorously through the ongoing litigation process as well as in its parallel antitrust litigation pending in Delaware federal court,” the company said in a statement. “We are confident that Novo Nordisk’s unprecedented and illegal scheme to circumvent antitrust scrutiny will not stand.”
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Novo has no hard deadline to submit a counterbid. If it submits a further sweetened offer, Pfizer must match the bid within two days or walk away. The shareholder vote on the deal is scheduled for November 13.
The takeover contest has also drawn scrutiny from US antitrust regulators. The Federal Trade Commission warned Novo that the structure of its deal to buy Metsera “may violate” competition laws and requested that the companies address concerns before completing any deal.
Novo said it was in “constructive dialogue” with the FTC and remained confident its offer complied with antitrust rules. Pfizer said it believed Novo’s bid was illegal and welcomed the regulator’s intervention.
“We were encouraged to learn that the FTC sent a letter today to both Metsera and Novo Nordisk also expressing serious concerns,” Pfizer said.
Pfizer and Metsera did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the improved offer. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Pfizer was preparing an improved bid.
On Tuesday, Novo and Pfizer increased their bids with Metsera deeming Novo’s improved offer, which pays the US biotech $62.20 a share upfront and a further $24 down the line, to be superior. Pfizer on Tuesday improved its offer to $70 a share, valuing the business at up to $8.1bn.
Shares in Metsera jumped by 8 per cent in post-market trading to just over $77.
