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Pfizer stated on Friday it had filed a lawsuit in opposition to Metsera and Novo Nordisk saying Metsera breached its merger settlement obligations in declaring the Danish drugmaker’s $8.5 billion bid for the U.S. weight problems drug developer to be a superior supply.
Pfizer requested the Delaware court docket the place it filed the lawsuit to subject a brief restraining order to dam Metsera from terminating the settlement. The lawsuit was not instantly accessible within the court docket’s digital submitting system.
Metsera has given Pfizer till Tuesday to boost its supply.
Pfizer stated its swimsuit says that Novo’s bid is an unlawful try by a dominant firm available in the market to bypass antitrust scrutiny and carries important regulatory dangers.
The authorized motion comes as Pfizer obtained early antitrust clearance for its proposed $7.3 billion acquisition of Metsera from the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee. It granted early termination of the ready interval beneath the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, greater than every week forward of the November 7 deadline.
Pfizer, which doesn’t at present promote a weight-loss drug, is attempting to enter the fast-growing weight problems market projected to achieve $150 billion by the early 2030s.
The corporate has confronted setbacks in creating its personal therapies and is seeking to offset falling COVID-related income and looming patent expirations.
Novo Nordisk, maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, is searching for to regain floor misplaced to Eli Lilly, whose medication Zepbound and Mounjaro have proven stronger medical outcomes.
Metsera’s pipeline consists of experimental GLP-1 and amylin-based therapies that analysts say may generate $5 billion in peak gross sales.
Metsera and Novo didn’t instantly reply to Reuters’ requests for remark.