Pfizer’s $10 Billion Metsera Deal Signals an Ambitious Bid to Reclaim Leadership in Obesity Pharma

Pfizer has officially closed its acquisition of Metsera in a deal worth up to $10 billion, marking one of the drugmaker’s largest strategic bets in years and its most decisive re-entry into the booming global obesity market. The deal, approved by Metsera shareholders on Thursday, brings Pfizer back into a therapeutic category that has rapidly transformed from a niche specialty into a $150 billion industry expected to dominate pharmaceutical revenues by the end of the decade.

The acquisition provides Pfizer with access to Metsera’s flagship GLP-1 candidate, MET-097i, a once-monthly injectable that has already posted competitive mid-stage results. For Pfizer, which has struggled with declining COVID-19 sales and faces significant revenue cliffs from upcoming patent expirations, the move represents both a defensive maneuver and an aggressive attempt to regain influence in one of the fastest-growing drug markets worldwide.

For months, Big Pharma has been entrenched in a global race for obesity treatments, driven by Novo Nordisk’s runaway success with Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s momentum behind Zepbound. Pfizer, however, had been sidelined after discontinuing two of its own oral GLP-1 candidates—lotiglipron in 2023 and danuglipron in 2025—due to liver safety concerns. The withdrawal left a gap in Pfizer’s pipeline at exactly the moment when metabolic drugs were reshaping global healthcare demand.

Metsera’s unanimous board approval ended a highly competitive bidding war with Novo Nordisk, signaling Pfizer’s determination to secure a viable foothold. Under the final terms, Metsera shareholders will receive $65.60 per share in cash, plus up to $20.65 tied to future drug development milestones, valuing the company at the high end of earlier projections. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla framed the acquisition as a deliberate pivot toward “one of the most impactful and high-growth therapeutic areas” in modern medicine.

MET-097i stands at the center of that promise. In two mid-stage trials, the drug enabled up to 14.1% average weight loss—competitive with early GLP-1 entrants and potentially attractive to patients seeking less frequent injections. The once-monthly dosing schedule is especially significant: if late-stage results remain favorable, MET-097i could carve out a unique position among offerings that currently require weekly administration.

Pfizer plans to accelerate MET-097i into Phase 3 development, with executives projecting a commercial launch between 2028 and 2029. That timeline aligns closely with Pfizer’s need to replace billions in revenue that will vanish once key products—such as Eliquis, Ibrance and Xtandi—lose patent exclusivity between 2026 and 2028. The company has estimated those losses may total $17-18 billion annually.

In the short term, Pfizer’s move was welcomed by investors. Shares rose approximately 1.4% on Thursday while Novo Nordisk shares dipped 1.3%, reflecting market expectations that Pfizer’s renewed presence will intensify competition in a space once dominated by two players. Analysts also noted that the deal diversifies Pfizer away from pandemic-related revenue patterns, which have weighed heavily on its stock since 2023.

Metsera’s broader pipeline, which includes multiple cardiometabolic and metabolic disorder candidates, also enhances Pfizer’s ability to build a diversified obesity and metabolic disease portfolio, rather than depending on a single high-profile asset. The milestone-based payment structure gives Pfizer financial flexibility while rewarding Metsera shareholders if key clinical and commercial milestones are met.

Still, Pfizer’s return to the obesity sector is not guaranteed to be smooth. Competitors are racing to make advancements in oral GLP-1 therapies, combination drugs, next-generation incretin compounds and even dual- or triple-targeted metabolic agents. Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo’s Wegovy have already achieved global recognition and continue to expand into new indications such as sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease.

Regulatory expectations for obesity drugs have tightened as well, driven by rising demand, long-term safety concerns, and the industry’s increasingly central role in chronic disease management. The success of MET-097i will rely not only on efficacy but also on safety, tolerability, manufacturing scalability and pricing strategy—areas where Pfizer will face intense scrutiny.

But the strategic logic behind the acquisition is clear: Pfizer cannot afford to be absent from a global market undergoing one of the most significant demand surges in pharmaceutical history. If MET-097i performs strongly in late-stage trials, the deal could reshape Pfizer’s long-term revenue mix and position the company as a formidable competitor in metabolic medicine once again.

For now, the acquisition marks one of the most consequential turns in Pfizer’s post-pandemic evolution—an expensive but calculated bet on the future of global healthcare demand.