The move from the antitrust watchdog came shortly before Pfizer<\/a> launched a lawsuit against the boards of Novo and Metsera in Delaware court in an attempt to block the competing bid, accusing the Ozempic maker of trying to sabotage its agreed takeover and evade antitrust scrutiny.<\/p>\n The latest salvo in the battle to take over Metsera suggests the Trump administration is closely following the transaction and could step in to support the US pharma company\u2019s attempt to secure a much sought after obesity drug, according to people familiar with the matter. <\/p>\n President Donald Trump has been increasingly interventionist in mergers and acquisitions since re-entering office this year as he has used deal approval processes to support his America First agenda, including securing a \u201cgolden share<\/a>\u201d in US Steel as a condition to give the go-ahead to its takeover by Japan\u2019s Nippon Steel. The US government also took a stake in chipmaker Intel.<\/p>\n Pfizer is already in Trump\u2019s good graces thanks to its White House pricing agreement<\/a> announced last month and the launch of the TrumpRx drug platform. Chief executive Albert Bourla has been courting the US president with multiple visits to the White House and Mar-a-Lago.<\/p>\n Novo on Thursday unveiled an unsolicited bid valuing Metsera at up to $9bn, which the US biotech\u2019s board deemed \u201csuperior\u201d. In a statement accompanying its lawsuit, Pfizer, which had struck an up to $7.3bn deal with Metsera in September, argued that Novo\u2019s interloper deal was \u201cillegal\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed Novo Nordisk transaction is an illegal attempt by a company with a dominant market position to suppress competition and uses an unprecedented structure designed to deliberately evade antitrust review,\u201d Pfizer said in a statement. <\/p>\n In the lawsuit Pfizer said: \u201cNovo Nordisk\u2019s proposal is nothing more than an old-fashioned bribe of Metsera and its key stockholders to not compete against Novo Nordisk.\u201d Pfizer is seeking a stay on Novo\u2019s deal as well as damages. Novo has fallen behind Eli Lilly in its battle to dominate the lucrative weight-loss drug market, and under a newly-installed chief executive is beginning to pursue deals more aggressively. Novo previously bid on Metsera before Pfizer sealed its deal in September.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Pfizer\u2019s move for Metsera is aimed at giving the struggling US drugmaker a crucial foothold in the obesity drug market, after its weight-loss medicine being developed in-house flopped in clinical trials earlier this year. <\/p>\n Metsera has four clinical trials under way for obesity drugs, including a long-acting monthly injectable and a pill, giving them a competitive advantage compared with existing weight loss treatments. <\/p>\n Pfizer issued a statement Friday afternoon saying the FTC \u201chas granted early termination of the waiting period\u201d under Hart-Scott-Rodino review ahead of an early November deadline, clearing a crucial hurdle in antitrust regulators\u2019 review of any deal. <\/p>\n Due to a reduction in funding as a fallout of the US government shutdown, the FTC previously said it would not grant so-called early termination notices for antitrust reviews of deals, but an exception was made for the Pfizer-Metsera deal.<\/p>\n Novo said late on Friday that Pfizer\u2019s allegations were meritless, adding \u201cwe will vigorously defend ourselves in any litigation\u201d.<\/p>\n Metsera said it \u201cdisagrees with the allegations in Pfizer\u2019s complaint\u201d and would address them in court. <\/p>\n Recommended<\/p>\n
As part of its takeover proposal, Novo offered to pay Metsera $6.5bn<\/a> almost immediately after signing, an unusual two-step deal structure which Pfizer argued was created to evade Novo\u2019s antitrust risk as one of the two dominant players in the weight-loss drug market. <\/p>\n
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