TWiBD: Pfizer's $6.95B Metsera Buy — Because Obesity Portfolios Are the New Black?

Author

BN Plummer
September 27, 2025

This Week in BD (TWiBD) for a crisp, curated scan of the week’s most consequential biotech M&A and licensing moves.

Deal of the Week:

Pfizer and Metsera: Acquires Next-Generation Obesity Portfolio—press release

Pfizer is acquiring Metsera, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, to expand its portfolio of obesity and cardiometabolic disease treatments. Metsera is an interesting rollup of assets from D&D Pharmatech and Zihipp Ltd., that was founded just 3 years ago.

  • Structure: Acquisition

  • Stage/Modality: Incretin,Non-incretin,GLP-1 receptor agonist (RA),Amylin analog in Obesity,Cardiometabolic diseases

  • Financials:

    • Upfront: $4.7B

    • Total Milestones (CVRs): $2.25B

    • Total Deal Value: $6.95B

Notable Deals

Boehringer Ingelheim and TegMine Therapeutics: Collaborates on 2-Factor Antibody System—press release

TegMine Therapeutics has entered a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to advance its novel 2-Factor Antibody System for cancer. The partnership will leverage TegMine's proprietary platform to develop more selective and better-tolerated ADC therapeutics, with an initial program targeting a clinically validated antigen and the potential to expand to two additional targets.

  • Structure: Licensing

  • Stage/Modality: Preclinical Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) in

  • Financials: not disclosed

Eli Lilly and Company and Prellis Biologics: Multi-Target Drug Discovery Collaboration—press release

Prellis Biologics and Eli Lilly and Company have entered a multi-target drug discovery collaboration to develop human antibody therapeutics using Prellis' EXIS and AntiGen AI platforms.

  • Structure: Licensing

  • Stage/Modality: Discovery mAbs

  • Financials: milestones & royalties on net sales

Genentech and Starpharma: Licenses DEP Drug Delivery Technology—press release 

Starpharma and Genentech collaborate to develop cancer therapies using Starpharma's DEP drug delivery technology, with Genentech receiving an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize products resulting from the collaboration

  • Structure: Licensing

  • Stage/Modality: Discovery Dendrimer-drug conjugates in Cancer for Oncology

  • Financials:

    • Upfront: $5.5M

    • Total Milestones: $564M

    • Royalties: Tiered royalties on global net sales

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Hengrui Pharma: Licenses HER2 ADC Trastuzumab Rezetecan—press release

Hengrui Pharma grants Glenmark exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Trastuzumab Rezetecan (SHR-A1811) in non-core markets (ex. India, Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia)

  • Structure: Licensing

  • Stage/Modality: Marketed Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC)

  • Financials:

    • Upfront: $18M

    • Total Milestones: $1.093B

    • Royalties: Yes

Kinea Bio and Solid Biosciences: Licenses AAV-SLB101 Capsid—press release 

Solid Biosciences has announced a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Kinea Bio for the use of its proprietary next-generation capsid, AAV-SLB101, for the development and commercialization of KNA-155, a dual AAV gene therapy targeting dysferlinopathy.

  • Structure: Licensing

  • Stage/Modality: Preclinical AAV in Neuromuscular diseases

  • Financials: milestones & royalties on net sales

Gossamer Bio and Samsara BioCapital: Option to Acquire Respira Therapeutics—press release 

Gossamer Bio has entered into an agreement with Respira Therapeutics, granting Gossamer an option to acquire Respira from Samsara BioCapital. The agreement is focused on the development of RT234, a first-in-class, as-needed treatment for pulmonary hypertension.

  • Structure: Acquisition

  • Stage/Modality: Phase 2 Small Molecule in Pulmonary Hypertension for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH),Pulmonary Hypertension associated with Interstitial Lung Disease (PH-ILD)

  • Financials:

    • Upfront: $0

    • Equity: $4M

    • Royalties: Yes

TWiBD Book Recommendation

Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company — Andy Grove

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