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Benzinga
Benzinga
Business
Vandana Singh

Pfizer Tries To Revitalize Obesity Portfolio With $5 Billion Matsera Deal

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Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) on Monday agreed to acquire Metsera, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSR) to accelerate the next generation of medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.

The acquisition brings a portfolio of differentiated oral and injectable incretin, non-incretin, and combination therapy candidates.

“Obesity is a large and growing space with over 200 health conditions associated with it,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. . The acquisition “propels” Pfizer into a “key therapeutic area,” he added.

Also Read: Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech Stocks Tumble After Report Of Plan To Link COVID Vaccines To Child Deaths

Metsera has a portfolio of therapeutic candidates and combinations with four programs in clinical development. It also has several next-generation programs with ongoing IND-enabling studies. The pipeline includes:

  • MET-097i, a weekly and monthly injectable GLP-1 receptor agonist (RA) in Phase 2 development
  • MET-233i, a monthly amylin analog candidate as monotherapy
  • Two oral GLP-1 RA candidates to begin clinical trials
  • Additional preclinical nutrient-stimulated hormone therapeutics.

Deal Consideration

Pfizer will acquire Metsera for $47.50 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of approximately $4.9 billion.

The agreement also includes milestone payments of up to $22.50 per share in cash.

Pfizer management expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The Financial Times was the first to report the M&A update.

Earlier this year, Pfizer discontinued the development of danuglipron (PF-06882961), a once-daily oral drug for chronic weight management. After that flop, the company can once again compete in the next-generation anti-obesity drug sector.

The company said that a single asymptomatic participant in one of the dose-optimization studies experienced potential drug-induced liver injury, which resolved after discontinuation of danuglipron.

Price Action: PFE stock is up 1.75% at $24.45, and MTSR stock is up 60.53% at $53.49 during the premarket session at the last check on Monday.

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Image: Shutterstock

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