Pfizer sues to stop rival bid for drugmaker Metsera by Denmark’s Novo Nordisk

Pfizer is suing over some unsolicited competition in its nearly $5 billion bid to buy the drugmaker Metsera.

New York-based Pfizer said Friday after markets closed that it was suing Metsera and a third drugmaker, Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, over a bid for Metsera that Novo announced Thursday.

Novo said it planned to buy Metsera in a deal that could be worth up to $9 billion, and Metsera said the offer appeared to be superior to Pfizer’s bid, which was announced in September.

Metsera Inc. has no products on the market, but it is developing potential oral and injectable treatments. That includes some potential treatments that could target lucrative fields for obesity and diabetes.

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Novo already has the treatments Wegovy and Ozempic on the market in those respective categories.

Pfizer said the offer from Novo cannot be considered superior to its bid because it carries significant regulatory risk that makes it unlikely to be completed.

Pfizer, which ended development of a potential pill to treat obesity this spring, also said Novo’s offer represents “an illegal attempt by a company with a dominant market position to suppress competition.”

Representatives of both Novo and Metsera did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.