Thomas Fuller | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Pfizer<\/a>\u00a0said on Friday it had filed a\u00a0lawsuit\u00a0against\u00a0Metsera<\/a>\u00a0and Novo Nordisk<\/a> saying\u00a0Metsera\u00a0breached its merger agreement obligations in declaring the Danish drugmaker’s\u00a0$8.5 billion\u00a0bid for the U.S. obesity drug developer to be a superior offer.<\/p>\n Pfizer\u00a0asked the Delaware court where it filed the\u00a0lawsuit\u00a0to issue a temporary restraining order to block\u00a0Metsera\u00a0from terminating the agreement. The\u00a0lawsuit\u00a0was not immediately available in the court’s electronic filing system.<\/p>\n Metsera\u00a0has given\u00a0Pfizer\u00a0until Tuesday to raise its offer.<\/p>\n Pfizer\u00a0said its suit says that Novo’s bid is an illegal attempt by a dominant company in the market to bypass antitrust scrutiny and carries significant regulatory risks.<\/p>\n The legal action comes as\u00a0Pfizer\u00a0received early antitrust\u00a0clearance\u00a0for its proposed $7.3 billion acquisition of\u00a0Metsera\u00a0from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. It granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, more than a week ahead of the November 7 deadline.<\/p>\n Pfizer, which does not currently sell a weight-loss drug, is trying to enter the fast-growing obesity market projected to reach $150 billion by the early 2030s.<\/p>\n The company has faced setbacks in developing its own treatments and is looking to offset falling COVID-related revenue and looming patent expirations.<\/p>\n