Pfizer files a second lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Metsera

Pfizer She said on Monday that she had filed a second lawsuit against… Novo Nordisk and MitsiraAlleging that the Danish pharmaceutical company’s attempt to outbid Pfizer to obtain obesity biotechnology is anti-competitive.

Pfizer claims Ozempic Novo Nordisk’s proposed acquisition of Metsera will help it maintain its dominant position in the popular obesity market by eliminating a potentially smaller competitor, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Delaware. The suit also alleges that Metsera’s controlling shareholders conspired with the obesity biotech companies Novo Nordisk.

Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Pfizer is trying to litigate its way into purchasing Metsera at a lower price than Novo Nordisk,” Metsera said in a statement. The company added that Pfizer’s legal arguments are “nonsense, and Metsera will address them in court.”

The new lawsuit escalates a heated standoff between Pfizer and Novo Nordisk over Metsera, whose obesity pipeline could lead to new competitors in the booming weight-loss drug market. Pfizer said in September that it would acquire Metsera for $4.9 billion, or up to $7.3 billion with future payments — a deal that could be the company’s golden ticket into the space after it struggled to bring its obesity products to market.

But Novo Nordisk on Thursday launched a takeover bid that values ​​the biotech at about $6 billion, setting a four-business-day deadline for Pfizer to renegotiate its offer. On Friday, Pfizer filed its first lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Metsira seeking to prevent the biotech company from terminating its existing merger deal with Pfizer.

This suit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleges that Novo Nordisk’s offer cannot be considered a superior offer because it is not reasonably likely to be completed due to the significant regulatory risks involved.

Novo Nordisk helped create the weight-loss drug space, bringing to market highly effective GLP-1 drugs, including the diabetes shot Ozempic and the obesity shot Wegovy. But the company lost its leading position in the market to its main competitor, Eli Lillyover the past year and has struggled to impress investors with its pipeline.