Novo Nordisk’s $10B Bid Beats Pfizer in Obesity Drug Battle

According to CNBC, Novo Nordisk has dramatically upped the ante in the battle for obesity drugmaker Metsera with a new proposal valuing the company at up to $86.20 per share, totaling around $10 billion. This represents a massive 159% premium to Metsera’s closing price from September 19, the last trading day before Pfizer originally announced its acquisition plans. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s revised offer comes in at $70 per share, roughly $8.1 billion total. Metsera’s board has declared Novo Nordisk’s bid “superior” and now has two business days to negotiate with Pfizer before potentially terminating their existing merger agreement. The new bids come just one day after Pfizer filed its second lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Metsera, alleging anticompetitive behavior.

Sponsored content — provided for informational and promotional purposes.

This bidding war is getting messy

Here’s the thing – we’re not just talking about two companies politely raising their offers. Pfizer is literally suing Novo Nordisk while this bidding war plays out. They’re alleging that Novo’s attempt to outbid them is anticompetitive, which feels a bit like complaining that someone else showed up to an auction you thought you had locked down.

And the stakes couldn’t be higher. We’re looking at a complete reshuffling of the obesity drug market, which has become the pharmaceutical industry’s new gold rush. Novo Nordisk basically created this market with Wegovy and Ozempic, but they’re watching Eli Lilly eat their lunch with Mounjaro and Zepbound. Meanwhile, Pfizer has been struggling for years to get its own obesity products to market. For them, Metsera isn’t just an acquisition – it’s their golden ticket into the party.

So why is everyone fighting over Metsera?

Basically, the obesity drug space has become the most valuable real estate in pharmaceuticals. We’re talking about a market that could be worth $100 billion or more. And right now, it’s basically a two-horse race between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Everyone else is desperate to catch up.

Pfizer thought they had this locked up back in September with their original $4.9 billion offer. Then Novo Nordisk swooped in last week with a $6 billion bid, forcing Pfizer to come back with $7.3 billion. Now we’re at $8.1 billion versus $10 billion? This is moving at lightning speed, and it shows just how terrified these companies are of being left behind.

The crazy part? Metsera’s actual products are still in development. We’re talking about betting billions on potential rather than proven revenue. But in this market, potential is everything. Whoever controls the next generation of obesity treatments could dominate for decades.

What happens now?

Under the original agreement, Pfizer has this tiny two-business-day window to somehow make their $8.1 billion offer more attractive than Novo’s $10 billion bid. Good luck with that. Unless they pull some serious contractual magic or promise massive future payments, this looks like it’s heading Novo Nordisk’s way.

And honestly, doesn’t this make more sense for Metsera? Novo Nordisk already has the manufacturing capacity, the distribution networks, and the clinical expertise in this exact area. Pfizer would be building from scratch. If you’re Metsera’s board, which partner would you rather have developing your pipeline?

This whole situation reveals how desperate the pharmaceutical industry has become for a piece of the obesity pie. We’re watching established giants throw billions at what amounts to a science experiment because the alternative – being locked out of the next blockbuster drug category – is even scarier. As Metsera’s announcement makes clear, the bidding isn’t over until someone actually writes the check.