Pfizer Inc's (NYSE:PFE) lawsuit. Novo Nordisk A/S' (NYSE:NVO) counterbid. And in the middle of it all — a quiet $45 million position that might turn into Andreas Halvorsen's next masterstroke. After years of fighting from the sidelines of the Ozempic boom, Pfizer is finally throwing punches.
Pfizer is suing obesity-drug developer Metsera Inc (NASDAQ:MTSR) to block a takeover by Novo Nordisk. The war between the two pharma giants is driving MTSR stock higher, Wednesday.
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But while the pharma heavyweights slug it out, Viking Global, Halvorsen's $48 billion hedge fund, is quietly sitting on one of the most enviable seats in the house.
The $10 Billion Prize
Novo Nordisk just upped its bid for Metsera to $86.20 a share, valuing the biotech at roughly $10 billion, including a contingent value right of up to $24 in cash. Pfizer's offer, by comparison, tops out around $70 a share, and the company is fuming. CEO Albert Bourla didn't mince words on Tuesday's earnings call: "It is an illegal attempt by a foreign company to do an end run around antitrust laws, taking advantage of the government shutdown."
That meltdown underscores just how high the stakes have become in the race to dominate the next generation of weight-loss drugs — and how desperate Pfizer is to catch up to Novo's runaway success with Ozempic and Wegovy.
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The Smart Money Got There First
While Big Pharma battles in courtrooms and boardrooms, hedge fund titans are already counting their gains. Viking Global, which first disclosed its stake in Metsera at an average price of $27.22, is suddenly looking prescient.
Fellow billionaire Ken Griffin's Citadel also built a position earlier this year — small by Viking's standards, but now up more than 100%.
Metsera's proprietary nutrient-stimulated hormone analog peptides — a mouthful that might just redefine obesity treatment — have made it the biotech every pharma player suddenly wants to own.
The Takeaway
Pfizer's lawsuit may buy time, but it also signals fear. That is, fear of missing the next multibillion-dollar fat-loss franchise. Novo Nordisk wants to own it. Pfizer wants to stop it. But as the giants wrestle over who gets the future of weight-loss, Viking may already have it locked up.
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