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Pfizer is sending its lawyers to battle, filing two lawsuits to preserve its $7.3 billion agreement to acquire anti-obesity drugmaker Metsera.

Why it matters: Metsera's fate may be tied up in legal drama for months.

Catch up quick: On Friday, Pfizer sued Novo Nordisk and Metsera for allegedly breaking that original agreement, and on Monday, Pfizer filed the second lawsuit, alleging Novo's bid for Metsera would be anti-competitive.

Zoom in: Pfizer's antitrust claim could prove more persuasive, alleging that Novo is seeking to protect its leading spot in the weight-loss category.

Novo shot back in a statement this afternoon that Pfizer's claims are "meritless."

Flashback: Novo had sought to buy Metsera before the Pfizer-Metsera agreement was announced but, per Pfizer, Metsera's board determined Novo's offer "posed unacceptable regulatory risks."

"You've got the dominant firm ... acquiring one of the most promising rivals," a source close to the situation tells Axios. "Metsera through Pfizer could be a very important rival [to Novo Nordisk] in due course."

Between the lines: Novo's ambitious bid for Metsera shows how badly it needs to differentiate its portfolio — facing a 2032 semaglutide U.S. patent expiration with most of its other weight-loss assets in very early development.

Zoom in: Beth Mosier, health care M&A director at West Monroe, says Pfizer's antitrust lawsuit could be an effort to encourage FTC intervention, possibly forcing Novo to divest Ozempic or Wegovy to take ownership of Metsera.

She adds that the outcome of Friday's lawsuit may hinge on the fine print and interpretation of Pfizer and Metsera's original merger agreement, Mosier says.

"If it's [written] in a way that's legally defensible, I think Novo will probably back away fairly quickly," she says. "The only one who's going to probably really win in this whole thing is Metsera."

What we're watching: The fight over Metsera could raise valuations of all next-generation weight-loss pharma companies.

Legal battles start in Metsera bidding war

The outcome could set critical precedent for future pharma and obesity drug deals.

Illustration of a pill replacing the vertical line on a dollar sign.

<p>Pfizer is sending its lawyers to battle, filing two lawsuits to preserve its <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="$7.3 billion agreement" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/42314924.30/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tL3Byby9iaW90ZWNoLWRlYWxzLzIwMjUvMDkvMjIvcGZpemVyLXRvLWJ1eS1tZXRzZXJhLTdiLW9iZXNpdHk_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXNlbmR0b19wcm9uZXdzbGV0dGVydGVzdCZzdHJlYW09dG9w/618bec50fdd3fe6e7e205b74B48b4e938" data-vars-content-id="05d314a5-f5bd-4af3-8d49-c7555295fdb8" data-vars-headline="Legal battles start in Metsera bidding war" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/42314924.30/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tL3Byby9iaW90ZWNoLWRlYWxzLzIwMjUvMDkvMjIvcGZpemVyLXRvLWJ1eS1tZXRzZXJhLTdiLW9iZXNpdHk_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXNlbmR0b19wcm9uZXdzbGV0dGVydGVzdCZzdHJlYW09dG9w/618bec50fdd3fe6e7e205b74B48b4e938" target="_self">$7.3 billion agreement</a> to acquire anti-obesity drugmaker Metsera.</p><ul><li>Last week, Novo Nordisk <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="bid $9 billion" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/42314924.30/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tL3Byby9iaW90ZWNoLWRlYWxzLzIwMjUvMTAvMzAvbm92by1ub3JkaXNrLW1ldHNlcmEtcGZpemVyLWJpZGRpbmctd2FyP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9bmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zZW5kdG9fcHJvbmV3c2xldHRlcnRlc3Qmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/618bec50fdd3fe6e7e205b74Bed61b7bd" data-vars-content-id="05d314a5-f5bd-4af3-8d49-c7555295fdb8" data-vars-headline="Legal battles start in Metsera bidding war" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/42314924.30/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tL3Byby9iaW90ZWNoLWRlYWxzLzIwMjUvMTAvMzAvbm92by1ub3JkaXNrLW1ldHNlcmEtcGZpemVyLWJpZGRpbmctd2FyP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9bmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zZW5kdG9fcHJvbmV3c2xldHRlcnRlc3Qmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/618bec50fdd3fe6e7e205b74Bed61b7bd" target="_self">bid $9 billion</a>.</li></ul>

Legal battles start in Metsera bidding war

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