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Novo trumped Pfizer ( PFE ) with a $10 billion bid for Metsera ( MTSR )

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Pfizer ( PFE ) has matched Novo bid, Financial Times says

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Pfizer ( PFE ), Metsera ( MTSR ) have not confirmed offer, Novo declines

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By Sabrina Valle and Maggie Fick

NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A bidding war over

U.S. biotech Metsera ( MTSR ) was coming to a head on Thursday,

with Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk locked in a $10

billion battle with U.S. rival Pfizer ( PFE ) to win Metsera's ( MTSR )

obesity drug assets.

Reuters reported that Pfizer ( PFE ) was planning to sweeten its bid

for Metsera ( MTSR ) by a Wednesday midnight deadline agreed by the

companies, citing a person familiar with the matter, after a

judge denied Pfizer's ( PFE ) request to block Novo's higher offer.

The Financial Times said Pfizer ( PFE ) had matched Novo's offer,

which according to a lawyer representing Novo is due to expire

at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) on Thursday.

Neither Pfizer ( PFE ) nor Metsera ( MTSR ) had publicly confirmed a

sweetened offer as of Thursday morning. Novo declined to

comment.

AN ASSET WORTH FIGHTING OVER?

Pfizer ( PFE ) is racing against the clock to salvage a deal after

Novo trumped its offer for the startup and its next-generation

GLP-1 weight-loss treatments. Some analysts estimate the obesity

drug market will hit $150 billion early next decade.

The drama began last week when Novo launched an unsolicited

bid - its seventh since the quiet tussle began in January -

threatening Pfizer's ( PFE ) $7.3 billion agreement with Metsera ( MTSR )

announced in September.

Until Wednesday night, Metsera's ( MTSR ) sales agreement with Pfizer ( PFE )

was still active. But Metsera ( MTSR ) considered Novo's unsolicited bid

"superior". Pfizer ( PFE ) strongly opposes that view and has said

Novo's bid would face regulatory pushback.

Novo says its offer complies with all relevant laws.

The battle pits two of the world's biggest pharmaceutical

companies against each other as they jostle for position in the

lucrative but increasingly competitive obesity drug market.

Novo is trying to recover a once-commanding position that it

has lost to Eli Lilly ( LLY ), while Pfizer ( PFE ) is seeking to break

into the market and overcome past stumbles in the field.

"Some assets are truly worth fighting over," said Peter

Kolchinsky, managing partner at RA Capital, a major investor in

early-stage biotech firms, and a top-20 shareholder in Metsera ( MTSR ).

Over the past week, the fight has been marked by litigation,

duelling press releases, and a warning letter from the Federal

Trade Commission questioning the legality of Novo's two-step

acquisition plan.