Metsera Posts Promising Weight-Loss Drug Results. It Could Be a Win for Pfizer.

Investors are optimistic about Metsera’s injectable anti-obesity medicine MET-097i. (Dreamstime)

Key Points

• Metsera’s midstage weight-loss drug, MET-097i, achieved 14.1% placebo-adjusted weight-loss after 28 weeks at its highest dose.
• The drug demonstrated a low discontinuation rate of 2.9%, a sign the side effects are limited. Doses could be administered monthly.
• Pfizer’s acquisition of Metsera, valued at $47.50 per share plus potential milestones, is supported by the results, according to Leerink Partners.

Metsera , which is in the process of being acquired by Pfizer , released promising results for a midstage trial of a weight-loss drug, increasing its appeal as an acquisition target in the increasingly crowded anti-obesity space.

Metsera’s injectable drug, MET-097i, resulted in a 14.1% placebo-adjusted weight-loss after 28 weeks at the highest dose, the company said in a statement late Monday. The medicine also has the potential for a best-in-class profile in terms of side effects; only 2.9% of patients discontinued treatment, it said.

The treatment has the potential to be administered monthly, as opposed to the weekly injections currently needed for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. That could be an important advantage.

The results clear the way for the company to initiate late-stage trials in late 2025.

Metsera shares rose 0.3% to $52.24 in morning trading Tuesday. That is no surprise: Shares jumped 61% last week after Pfizer said it would pay $47.50 per share for Metsera, with an additional $22.50 if its drugs hit certain milestones.

The compelling results support Pfizer’s plans to acquire the smaller company, said Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger Tuesday. The data was “very encouraging,” he said, noting that tirzepatide—sold as Zepbound for weight-loss—resulted in a less pronounced 13% weight reduction over 28 weeks in a previous trial.

Pfizer stock gained 1.8% to $24.29 in early trading, leaving the stock down 15% over the past 12 months. Buying Metsera could give Pfizer an entry into the lucrative weight-loss market after the company discontinued a treatment it developed in-house earlier this year.

Metsera’s pipeline includes both GLP-1 medicines similar to Wegovy and Zepbound, as well as weight-loss pills and amylin —another type of experimental weight-loss medicine.

Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com