• by Tanya Gazdik , September 22, 2025

Pfizer is acquiring Metsera, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, in a deal valued at up to $7.3 billion.

“Pfizer said it would pay $4.9 billion up front for Metsera, a biotech with a diversified weight loss pipeline,” according to Barron's. “Pfizer is paying $47.50 per share for Metsera, which closed Friday at $33.32. The company is also promising bonus payments worth up to $22.50 per share if Metsera’s drugs hit certain milestones.”

The boards of directors of both Metsera and Pfizer have unanimously approved the transaction. 

The move comes after a string of setbacks for Pfizer in the obesity space, according to CNBC.

“The pharmaceutical giant struggled to develop its own lead obesity drug candidate, danuglipron, before deciding to scrap it entirely in April due to safety concerns," according to CNBC. "Pfizer also discontinued a different once-daily pill in June 2023 due to elevated liver enzymes in patients who received it.”

Pfizer has faced mounting investor pressure to accelerate its push into the market.

“Metsera Inc. has no products on the market, but its pipeline includes four programs in clinical development and one in mid-stage testing,” according to The Associated Press.  "Pfizer said the deal will add expertise and potential oral and injectable treatments.”

“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,” according to The Wall Street Journal. “Drugmakers are now racing to develop weight-loss pills, which would be easier and less expensive to make than the more complex injectables and more appealing to consumers who don’t like needles.”

The obesity market is expected to reach $100 billion by 2030, according to analysts. 

“Metsera, one of several next-generation hopefuls in obesity, is developing a handful of experimental weight-loss drugs, including a shot that could be taken less often than the market-leading drugs from Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S,” according to Bloomberg. “One drug, called MET-233i, helped patients shed up to 8.4% of their weight in 36 days in a recent study. It’s still in the early stages of development, meaning it’s several years away from reaching patients.”