Pfizer Inc has lodged a follow-up lawsuit in Delaware’s federal court targeting drug developer Metsera, its primary shareholder, and Danish competitor Novo Nordisk. The filing levels accusations of unfair competitive practices against the parties involved.
This action stems from Novo Nordisk’s unexpected and uninvited counteroffer to purchase Metsera, a U.S.-based firm that Pfizer had previously secured in a merger agreement worth approximately $7.3 billion.
Without an existing product in the weight-loss category, Pfizer views the acquisition of Metsera as a strategic move to penetrate the burgeoning $150 billion obesity treatment market.
This would help counterbalance the company’s declining income from COVID-19 products and the approaching end of several key patents.
Industry experts project that Metsera‘s pipeline of investigational treatments could yield up to $5 billion in annual revenue.
According to Pfizer’s claims, Novo’s acquisition attempt represents a calculated effort to acquire and neutralize an emerging U.S. contender in the rapidly expanding GLP-1 drug sector. Novo currently leads this space with its highly successful medications for obesity and diabetes management.
The lawsuit further asserts that Metsera’s major investors—including Validae Health, Population Health Partners, and ARCH Venture Funds XII and XIII—collaborated with Novo and Metsera to advance this alleged anticompetitive strategy.
This marks Pfizer’s second court filing against the group in a short span. Just days earlier, on Friday, the company requested a temporary injunction from the same court to stop Metsera from dissolving their existing merger pact.
Representatives from both Metsera and Novo Nordisk have yet to provide responses to inquiries regarding the matter.
