Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

By Bhanvi Satija LONDON (Reuters) -Metsera has become the obesity drug market’s hottest ticket. The New York-based biotech is at the centre of a bidding war between Novo Nordisk and Pfizer, both vying for access to its pipeline of experimental treatments as competition intensifies in the booming $150 billion weight-loss drug market. Metsera’s lead candidate, MET-097i, is a once-monthly GLP-1 injectable. Unlike Novo’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, which are both weekly shots, it works by selectively binding to a protein pathway linked to weight loss and insulin release, potentially reducing side effects and dosing frequency. PROMISING CANDIDATES IN THE…

By Anuja Bharat Mistry (Reuters) -Colgate-Palmolive cut its annual sales forecast on Friday, in a sign that rising economic uncertainty is reducing consumer spending on higher-priced items, even in essential categories such as oral and personal care. The maker of Colgate toothpaste and Palmolive soap has been raising prices in most markets to counter the impact of U.S. tariffs, pushing shoppers towards cheaper alternatives. While prices rose 2.3% during the third quarter, volumes fell 1.9%, compared to a year ago. “Consumers still remain relatively weak across North America,” said CEO Noel Wallace during the post-earnings call, adding that discount seeking…

(Reuters) -AbbVie raised its 2025 profit forecast on Friday, after strong sales of newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq helped boost third-quarter results above estimates. The North Chicago-based drugmaker has been leaning on Skyrizi and Rinvoq to offset declining sales of its once best-selling arthritis treatment Humira that began facing biosimilar competition in the U.S. in 2023. However, shares of the company were down nearly 4% in early trading, after sales from its aesthetics products portfolio – home to popular anti-wrinkle treatment Botox – fell 3.7% from last year. “Another weaker quarter for the Aesthetics business could raise some eyebrows…

By Kamal Choudhury, Sabrina Valle and Tom Hals (Reuters) -Pfizer on Friday filed a lawsuit against Metsera and Novo Nordisk, saying Metsera breached its merger agreement obligations in declaring the Danish drugmaker’s $8.5 billion bid for the U.S. obesity drug developer to be a superior offer. Pfizer asked the Delaware court to issue a temporary restraining order to block Metsera from terminating the agreement. Metsera has given Pfizer until Tuesday to raise its offer. Pfizer wants Metsera’s scheduled shareholder vote to take place on November 13. The legal action comes as Pfizer received early antitrust clearance for its proposed $7.3…

(Reuters) -Pfizer has received early U.S. antitrust clearance more than a week early for its proposed $7.3 billion Metsera acquisition, which has been called into question by Novo Nordisk’s higher $8.5 billion offer. Metsera has declared Novo’s offer superior, and given Pfizer until Tuesday to raise its bid. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the waiting period required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, which governs antitrust reviews. The waiting period was originally set to expire on November 7, Pfizer said on Friday. The clearance means Pfizer could move ahead with its proposed purchase of Metsera without further antitrust…

Pfizer is suing over some unsolicited competition in its nearly $5 billion bid to buy the drugmaker Metsera. New York-based Pfizer said Friday after markets closed that it was suing Metsera and a third drugmaker, Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, over a bid for Metsera that Novo announced Thursday. Novo said it planned to buy Metsera in a deal that could be worth up to $9 billion, and Metsera said the offer appeared to be superior to Pfizer’s bid, which was announced in September. Metsera Inc. has no products on the market, but it is developing potential oral and injectable treatments. That…

Kimberly-Clark is buying Tylenol maker Kenvue in a cash and stock deal worth about $48.7 billion, creating a massive consumer health goods company. Kenvue shareholders will receive $3.50 per share in cash and 0.14625 Kimberly-Clark shares for each Kenvue share held at closing. That amounts to $21.01 per share, based on the closing price of Kimberly-Clark shares on Friday. Kimberly-Clark shareholders will own about 54% of the combined company. Kenvue shareholders will own about 46%. The combined company is anticipated to generate 2025 annual net revenues of approximately $32 billion. Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue said that they identified about $1.9 billion…

By Christy Santhosh (Reuters) -UniQure said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration no longer agreed that clinical data for the Dutch company’s gene therapy for Huntington’s disease may be adequate for a marketing application, triggering a 57% slump in its U.S.-listed shares. Monday’s update follows feedback received during a recent meeting with the health regulator, the company said. The agency advised UniQure that the data would likely be not adequate to serve as the primary basis for a marketing application, also called the Biologics License Application, under the accelerated approval pathway. “We are surprised by the feedback, which is a…

(Reuters) -Pfizer Inc said on Monday it has filed a second lawsuit against its controlling shareholder, Metsera, and Novo Nordisk in a Delaware federal court, accusing them of anticompetitive conduct. The latest lawsuit follows Danish drugmaker Novo’s bold and unsolicited counter-bid for U.S.-based Metsera, surprising Pfizer which had already locked in a deal with Metsera valued at about $7.3 billion. Pfizer, which does not currently sell a weight-loss drug, is betting on Metsera to help it enter the $150 billion obesity market and offset falling COVID-related revenue and looming patent expirations. Metsera is working on experimental therapies that analysts say…

(Reuters) -Kenvue missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter sales on Monday, while it also announced its acquisition by Kimberly-Clark for about $48.7 billion. The consumer health company’s shares rose about 20% in premarket trading following the deal. Kenvue has endured several challenges since its spinoff from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, and was especially scrutinized following President Donald Trump’s comments linking its popular pain medicine Tylenol to autism. Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr acknowledged there is no evidence proving Tylenol causes autism, but repeated his view that signs of a link between the…