FILE PHOTO: The Pfizer logo is seen in this illustration taken August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Mrinalika Roy, Christy Santhosh and Tom Hals

(Reuters) -Pfizer and Novo Nordisk's fight for obesity drug developer Metsera ratcheted up on Tuesday, as both companies submitted sweetened bids, with Metsera saying Novo's $10 billion offer is superior.

The dramatic bidding war kicked off last week with Novo's surprise play for Metsera, which had already agreed to be acquired by Pfizer. It has turned into a rancorous legal fight as Novo tries to recover its once-commanding position in obesity drugs while Pfizer attempts to overcome past in-house stumbles in that market.

Pfizer bumped its offer to $8.1 billion from its original $7.3 billion. It filed two lawsuits against Metsera, its board, and Novo Nordisk to try to prevent Novo and Metsera from making a deal.

A Delaware judge on Tuesday said in a preliminary evaluation that she does not see the need to involve the court in the bidding war, but scheduled another hearing for Wednesday to review the process.

For Pfizer, the bid represents another attempt to get into an obesity treatment market forecast to grow to $150 billion annually by early next decade. The company raised its full-year profit forecast on Tuesday, but is still grappling with declining sales of COVID-19 products and big-selling medicines facing looming patent expirations.

Speaking to analysts after reporting results on Tuesday, CEO Albert Bourla said Novo's bid was "the epitome of antitrust conflict," which the Danish drugmaker has denied.

Novo has motivation to go after Metsera, as it has recently struggled in the face of intense competition from rival Eli Lilly, whose Zepbound has overtaken the Danish drugmaker's Wegovy.

Novo launched its unsolicited bid for Metsera on October 30, following the U.S. biotech's September agreement with Pfizer.

Metsera shares extended gains to more than 20% on Tuesday after the judge's statement. Pfizer shares, which had been up about 1%, edged down 0.7% after the hearing.

ACQUISITION BATTLE LANDS IN COURT

The first lawsuit, filed on Friday, claims Novo's bid breaches Pfizer's merger agreement. Metsera, in a letter on Tuesday, had said the court should not interfere in the process, arguing the competing bids suggest the auction process should play out.

The judge seemed inclined to agree. "My strong sense is that it would be wrong for this court to inject itself into an ongoing topping process that's creating value for Metsera stockholders," Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn said.

Pfizer now has until the end of business on Wednesday to match Novo's new proposal, Metsera's letter said.

The second lawsuit alleges the proposed deal would stifle competition in the GLP-1 drug market, amounting to monopolization and conspiracy under U.S. antitrust law. Novo has said it closely adhered to all of the restrictions under the Pfizer merger agreement.

UPBEAT RESULTS

Pfizer earlier on Tuesday raised its 2025 profit forecast for the second consecutive quarter and now expects to earn $3.00 to $3.15 per share, up from its prior view of $2.90 to $3.10. Adjusted third-quarter earnings came in at 87 cents a share, topping analysts' expectations by 24 cents.

Sales of COVID antiviral Paxlovid fell 55%, while sales of Comirnaty, the vaccine it shares with BioNTech, were down 20% due to lower infection rates and a narrower COVID-19 vaccine recommendation in the U.S. that reduced the eligible population.

Pfizer last month became the first major pharmaceutical company to sign a deal with the Trump administration to lower the price of its prescription drugs in the government Medicaid program in exchange for three years of tariff relief.

CEO Bourla has cultivated a strong relationship with President Donald Trump, which analysts said could be used to its advantage to try to thwart Novo's bid.

Total sales for the quarter fell 6% to $16.65 billion.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sabrina Valle and Tom Hals; Editing by David Gaffen and Bill Berkrot)