Pfizer to Buy Weight-Loss Drug Developer Metsera for Up to $7.3 Billion — 2nd Update

By Colin Kellaher

Pfizer has agreed to pay up to $7.3 billion for weight-loss drug developer Metsera in a deal that gets the New York drugmaker back into the burgeoning market for obesity drugs.

Pfizer on Monday said it would pay an initial $47.50 a share, or about $4.9 billion, for Metsera, a nearly 43% premium to Friday's closing price of $33.32 for the New York company.

The deal, slated to close by the end of the year, includes up to an additional $22.50 a share tied to milestones that could bring the total consideration to $70 a share, more than double Friday's closing price.

Pfizer, which earlier this year scrapped its experimental weight-loss pill danuglipron over concerns about potential liver damage, said the Metsera acquisition adds four clinical-stage programs to its pipeline, including a GLP-1 receptor agonist that is in Phase 2 development as both a weekly and monthly injectable treatment.

Metsera also has two weight-loss pill candidates expected to begin clinical trials imminently.

Albert Bourla, Pfizer's chief executive, in April said ending the development of danuglipron was the right decision and pledged that the company would continue to build its obesity pipeline, both through internal programs and through partnerships or acquisitions.

The weight-loss market has been a boon for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which have raked in billions of dollars from the blockbuster injectable drugs Wegovy and Zepbound.

Drugmakers are now racing to develop weight-loss pills, which would be easier and less expensive to make that the more complex injectables and more appealing to consumer who don't like needles.

Pfizer's acquisition of Metsera comes as the drugmaker faces a steep patent cliff, with blockbusters such as the blood thinner Eliquis, the cancer drugs Ibrance and Xtandi, and the pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13 set to lose U.S. patent protection by 2028.

Andrew Baum, Pfizer's chief strategy and innovation officer, said the company expects Metsera's pipeline will deliver a series of launches beginning in the 2028-2029 timeframe, which would accelerate Pfizer's growth trajectory following the major loss of exclusivity.

Analysts at Leerink Partners said they think Metsera's differentiated obesity drug candidates could generate more than $5 billion in combined peak sales.

Pfizer said it plans to finance the acquisition of Metsera with cash on hand and new debt, adding that the deal doesn't change its capital-allocation priorities and that it still has the capacity for more dealmaking.

Pfizer also noted that it remain committed to funding and growing its dividend, which currently yields around 7%, the highest among major drug stocks and one of the richest yields in the S&P 500 index.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2025 10:54 ET (14:54 GMT)