Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar on $10B Metsera bid, expanding use of obesity drugs
CNBC Television·2025-11-05 14:20

Market Dynamics & Strategic Acquisitions - Novo Nordisk lowered its full-year profit and revenue forecast [1] - A potential bidding war for Metsera, a small company with 100 employees and promising drugs, is occurring, highlighting the importance of the weight loss area to both Pfizer and Novo Nordisk [2] - Novo Nordisk views Metsera's pipeline of drugs as complementary to its own, particularly a lead asset entering phase three, as well as other assets with promising monthly dosing, efficacy, safety and tolerability [2][6] - Novo Nordisk increased its bid for Metsera from $9 billion to $10 billion, indicating a strong interest in acquiring the company's assets [7] - The acquisition strategy is driven by the need to address the unmet needs of hundreds of millions of patients with obesity, supplementing in-house development with external assets [3][4] Novo Nordisk's Strategy & Market Vision - Novo Nordisk aims to treat hundreds of millions of patients with obesity, emphasizing the need for multiple products to address this unmet need [3] - Novo Nordisk focuses on addressing the unmet needs of patients and developing assets for a long-term sustainable future, covering individual needs of people suffering from diabetes and obesity [8][9] - Novo Nordisk aims to expand the obesity treatment market, providing affordable access to more patients, noting that current access only reaches 3-4 million out of 100 million affected individuals [15] - Novo Nordisk wants to sustain its leadership in the obesity treatment market and expand access to affordable treatments for more patients [14][15] Negotiations & Future Outlook - Novo Nordisk is engaged in constructive dialogue with the Trump administration to provide affordable access to drugs in the US [10] - Novo Nordisk anticipates significant growth in the weight loss market, but does not provide specific estimates [11] - Novo Nordisk views the market as a free market space where the value of the drug determines the price between buyer and seller [17][18]