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Investing.com-- Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) is close to launching a $7.3 billion takeover offer for anti-obesity drug maker Metsera Inc (NASDAQ:MTSR), which could be the former’s biggest deal in two years while also giving it an edge in the weight loss drug market, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Pfizer is offering $47.50 in cash for each share in Metsera, plus another $22.50 if certain performance milestones are met, the FT reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Metsera’s shares closed at $33.32 on Friday.
The deal could be announced as soon as Monday, the FT report said.
Pfizer’s pursuit of Metsera appears to stem from the company’s attempts to break into the lucrative weight loss drug industry, after its own experimental drug danuglipron flopped in clinical trials earlier this year. The company has largely lagged rivals such as Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in developing weight-loss drugs, which have ballooned into a major industry over the past two years.
Metsera had publicly listed earlier this year in one of the year’s biggest offerings. The company is researching next-generation weight-loss treatments, with its lead drug MET-097i seen as an advancement of current generation GLP-1 drugs.