Pfizer Inc. is making a daring return to the obesity battlefield, announcing Monday that it will acquire Metsera Inc. for $4.9 billion in cash. The move marks a high-stakes gamble on the biotech firm’s experimental therapies for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases—an arena where the pharmaceutical giant is determined to reclaim ground against fierce rivals.
The deal will see Pfizer pay $47.50 per Metsera share upfront, with investors potentially reaping up to an additional $22.50 per share if the company hits key clinical and regulatory milestones. That pushes the total transaction value to as much as $7.3 billion.
Advised by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Pfizer is positioning this acquisition as a strategic cornerstone. Metsera, guided by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, has won unanimous board approval for the deal, which is slated to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to shareholder and regulatory sign-off.
Reentering a High-Stakes Obesity Market
For Pfizer, this acquisition signals a return to a market it briefly exited earlier this year. The company abandoned its weight-loss pill candidate, danuglipron, amid safety concerns about liver damage. Now, the New York–based pharmaceutical giant is charting a new course, betting that Metsera’s advanced therapies will help it keep pace with industry juggernauts Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, whose blockbuster obesity treatments have reshaped the competitive landscape.
The rivalry is fierce. Just months ago, Novo Nordisk inked a $2.2 billion development pact with South San Francisco–based Septerna, highlighting the escalating race to dominate the fast-growing obesity sector.
