Novo’s CEO Turns to Next Targets
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Dealbreaker on MSN
Pfizer’s Sweeter $10B Offer Beats Novo Nordisk in Bidding War for Obesity Biotech Metsera
Pfizer’s offer of up to $86.25 in cash for each share of obesity drugs developer Metsera share tops the up to $86.20 Novo Nordisk was willing to pay.
For Novo, it marks the boldest move yet for recently appointed CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar. In response to a slowdown in sales growth for its blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy, Doustdar has already announced plans to lay off about 9,000 employees worldwide and shutter the company’s cell therapy R&D work.
Pfizer has won the week-long bidding war for Metsera with an upwardly revised up-to-$10 billion offer matching that of rival Novo Nordisk—and more than a little help from Washington.
But Doustdar also seems to recognize what he has in Novo Nordisk, the 100-year-old pharma that brought insulin to the masses, straight from the Toronto lab where Frederick Banting, Charles Best and John Macleod co-discovered the life-saving diabetes treatment.
Pfizer is getting into the obesity treatment industry with a multi-billion-dollar deal for Mestera. Currently, Pfizer and Mestera don’t have an obesity drug on the market. The deal between the two companies is expected to be finalized by the end of 2025.
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