Pfizer wants to strengthen its position in the market for weight loss drugs and is planning a billion-dollar acquisition

According to the Financial Times, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is close to reaching an agreement on the acquisition of Metsera, a company specializing in the development of weight loss drugs. The transaction is said to be worth around $7.3 billion.

Pfizer is expected to pay around €40 per share in cash, with an additional €19 per share to be paid if certain performance targets are met.
The acquisition would represent a 42.5 percent premium over Metsera's share price on Friday. According to the London Stock Exchange, the company's market value was recently around $3.5 billion.

Negotiations for the acquisition of Metsera come just a few months after the biotechnology company's successful debut on the Nasdaq – a sign of growing investor interest in companies developing new generations of weight loss therapies.

Some experts predict that the global market for weight loss drugs could reach $150 billion by the early 2030s.

The World Health Organization emphasized that obesity affects more than one billion people worldwide and is a major factor in millions of premature deaths.

(reuters, max)