Pfizer is jumping back into the booming obesity drug market with a big move. Just five months after scrapping its own weight loss pill project, the company announced it’s buying up-and-coming biotech firm Metsera for almost $5 billion.
The deal means Pfizer will pay $47.50 in cash for each share of Metsera, a solid 42% bump from the stock’s close on Friday. There’s also a chance for an extra $22.50 per share if Metsera’s drug pipeline hits certain milestones.
Metsera doesn’t have any products on the market yet, but it’s got a promising lineup: four programs in early clinical trials and one in mid-stage testing. Pfizer says this acquisition will bring in fresh expertise and potential new options, like oral pills and injectables, to tackle obesity.
“Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla called obesity a ‘large and growing space’ tied to more than 200 health conditions,” the company said in a statement. It’s no wonder—demand for weight loss treatments has exploded lately, thanks to blockbuster drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. Those injections have delivered impressive results, with Zepbound alone raking in $5.7 billion in sales during the first half of the year.
But these obesity treatments aren’t cheap—they can run patients hundreds of dollars a month. Experts hope more competition from companies like Pfizer will help bring prices down and make them more accessible.
Right now, Pfizer doesn’t sell any obesity drugs, though it has a few in development. Earlier this year, it halted work on a once-daily pill candidate right before the costly late-stage trials, citing strategic reasons.
Both companies’ boards, based in New York, have greenlit the deal. Metsera’s shareholders still need to vote yes, and regulators must approve it too. Pfizer expects the acquisition to wrap up in the fourth quarter of this year.
In pre-market trading Monday, Pfizer shares rose 38 cents to $24.40, while Metsera’s stock surged about 61%. This buyout could position Pfizer to challenge the leaders in the fast-growing obesity treatment market.
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