Pfizer Inc. upped its original $7.3 billion September offer to buy Metsera Inc., but the obesity specialist maintained that a now-improved unsolicited bid by semaglutide developer Novo Nordisk A/S is superior.

Biopharma partnerships involving nonprofits have declined sharply since peaking during the pandemic. Deal value surged from $5.18 billion in 2019 to $21.44 billion in 2021, driven by COVID-19 collaborations and vaccine-related funding, before falling to $7.99 billion in 2022 and $754.6 million in 2024. So far in 2025, nonprofit deal value totals $126 million through the third quarter.

Pfizer Inc. has delivered on its threat of legal action against the attempt by Novo Nordisk A/S to scupper its acquisition of Metsera Inc., and has filed two lawsuits, one alleging breach of contract, and a second claiming that a merger of Novo Nordisk and Metsera would violate antitrust regulations.

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH has licensed an unnamed small-molecule preclinical candidate from Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. in the autoimmune disease space in a deal worth up to €640 million (US$739 million).

Pfizer Inc. is threatening legal action at an attempt by Novo Nordisk A/S to scupper its acquisition of Metsera Inc., with an unsolicited $9 billion offer for the anti-obesity specialist. That trumps Pfizer’s agreed bid made in September, which valued New York-based Metsera at $7.3 billion.

With a modest $7 million up front but an ultimate payout potentially topping $1 billion on the line, Modex Therapeutics Inc. will collaborate with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. to find and develop multispecific antibodies for treating multiple indications.

Qyuns Therapeutics Co. Ltd. signed a potential $1.07 billion license deal with Roche Holding AG, granting the latter exclusive rights to QX-031N – a human thymic stromal lymphopoietin and interleukin-33)-targeting bispecific antibody.

Sovargen Co. Ltd. inked a $550 million license deal with Angelini Pharma SpA, granting Angelini development and commercialization rights to SVG-105, a novel antisense oligonucleotide drug candidate in preclinical development as a potential treatment for intractable epilepsy.

The $12.5 billion acquisition of Avidity Biosciences Inc. by Novartis AG strengthens the company’s neuroscience pipeline and marks the second biggest deal that’s been announced this year. It also is the fifth M&A deal in the past five weeks to top the $1 billion mark, a sign that the market may be strengthening.