Pfizer, Novo Nordisk escalate bidding war for obesity drug developer Metsera

Pfizer  and Novo Nordisk's  fight for obesity drug developer Metsera  ratcheted up on Tuesday, as both companies submitted sweetened bids, with Metsera saying Novo's $10 billion offer is superior.

The dramatic bidding war kicked off last week with Novo's surprise play for Metsera, which had already agreed to be acquired by Pfizer. It has turned into a rancorous legal fight as Novo tries to recover its once-commanding position in obesity drugs while Pfizer attempts to overcome past in-house stumbles in that market.

Pfizer bumped its offer to $8.1 billion from its original $7.3 billion. It has filed two lawsuits against Metsera, its board, and Novo Nordisk to try to prevent Novo and Metsera from making a deal. A Delaware judge on Tuesday said in a preliminary evaluation that she does not see the need to involve the court in the bidding war - but scheduled another hearing for Wednesday to review the process.

For Pfizer, the deal represents another attempt to get into an obesity treatment market forecast to grow to $150 billion annually by early next decade. The company raised its full-year profit forecast on Tuesday, but is still grappling with declining sales of COVID-19 products and big-selling medicines facing looming patent expirations.

Speaking to analysts after reporting results on Tuesday, CEO Albert Bourla said Novo's bid was "the epitome of antitrust conflict," which the Danish drugmaker has denied.

Novo has recently struggled in the face of intense competition from rival Eli Lilly , whose Zepbound has overtaken the Danish drugmaker's Wegovy.

Novo launched its unsolicited bid for Metsera on October 30, following the U.S. biotech's September agreement with Pfizer.