Pfizer wins £7.7bn bidding struggle for fats jab drug agency

US pharma giant Pfizer has triumphed in a bitter bidding war with Danish rival Novo Nordisk over a fat jab start-up.

Last month, Novo, the maker of drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy, gatecrashed a takeover deal between Pfizer and Metsera, an American firm that has a handful of weight-loss drugs in early development. Pfizer planned to buy Metsera for £5.5 billion but Novo unexpectedly swooped in with its own £6.8 billion offer.

The move prompted a furious response from Pfizer, which accused the Danish firm of reckless behaviour and threatened legal action.

Last week the US pharma group upped its bid for Metsera to £6.2 billion only for Novo to then increase its own offer to £7.7 billion. On Wednesday, Pfizer increased its bid once again to match the sweetened proposal from its Danish rival.

The winner: US pharma giant Pfizer has triumphed in a bitter bidding war with Danish rival Novo Nordisk over a fat jab start-up

And early yesterday, the US giant appeared to have won the battle when Metsera said its board would unanimously recommend Pfizer’s offer.

The company also said Novo’s bid had presented ‘unacceptably high legal and regulatory risks’ after US watchdogs warned a takeover by the Danish group may violate competition laws. 

Following Metsera’s announcement, Novo Nordisk said it would not make a higher bid for the firm but insisted its offer had been compliant with competition rules.