Key Takeaways
- • Pfizer secured up to $1.5 billion in private equity financing from Blackstone Life Sciences to fund development of berobenatide, the Metsera-acquired GLP-1 obesity drug, with funding running through 2028.
- • Blackstone's payments are tied to undisclosed regulatory and commercial milestones contingent on U.S. approval, while Pfizer retains full ownership, operational control and commercial rights to the asset.
- • BMO Capital Markets said the structure meaningfully offsets near-term development spending, though the ultimate long-term cash cost is difficult to quantify because milestone terms were not disclosed.
- • Leerink Partners expects the financing to support Pfizer over the next two years ahead of the Eliquis patent cliff beginning in April 2028.
- • The deal follows a similar Blackstone arrangement with Merck in 2025 worth $700 million for the TROP2 antibody-drug conjugate sac-TMT.
Summary
Pfizer has secured up to $1.5 billion in private equity funding from Blackstone Life Sciences to support berobenatide, a long-acting injectable GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight management acquired through Pfizer's $10 billion purchase of Metsera last year. According to a press release issued Wednesday evening, Blackstone will provide the funding through 2028 in exchange for undisclosed regulatory and commercial milestones tied to U.S. approval of the drug. Pfizer will retain full ownership and decision-making authority over the program and the broader commercial opportunity, a structure BMO Capital Markets highlighted in a note on Wednesday.
BMO described the deal as meaningfully offsetting near-term development spending without giving up the asset or its topline sales potential, writing that it "allows the company to preserve financial flexibility while continuing to invest behind what has emerged as a potentially important obesity franchise." Leerink Partners said the payments will be made over the term, with amounts increasing over time. The financing comes as Pfizer runs a heavy clinical program for berobenatide, including 10 ongoing or planned Phase 3 trials in chronic weight management and obesity-related conditions such as knee osteoarthritis and obstructive sleep apnea. Pfizer won Metsera in a bidding war against Novo Nordisk.
BMO cautioned that because the milestone terms were not disclosed, the ultimate cost of the arrangement is difficult to calculate, particularly if berobenatide becomes a successful commercial product. Leerink expects the deal to help Pfizer over the next two years as it approaches the April 2028 patent cliff for Eliquis, its blockbuster blood thinner. The timing reflects Pfizer's broader loss-of-exclusivity exposure.
Blackstone has pursued similar arrangements with other large pharmaceutical companies. In 2025 it agreed to provide $700 million to fund development costs for Merck's TROP2 antibody-drug conjugate sac-TMT through 2026, in exchange for royalties on net sales across approved indications. The Pfizer financing was announced a week after the company named Cecile Guegan as CFO alongside third-quarter earnings, when Pfizer reported 7% operational growth and 32% year-over-year growth in new and acquired products, including Padcev and Nurtec.
BMO described the deal as meaningfully offsetting near-term development spending without giving up the asset or its topline sales potential, writing that it "allows the company to preserve financial flexibility while continuing to invest behind what has emerged as a potentially important obesity franchise." Leerink Partners said the payments will be made over the term, with amounts increasing over time. The financing comes as Pfizer runs a heavy clinical program for berobenatide, including 10 ongoing or planned Phase 3 trials in chronic weight management and obesity-related conditions such as knee osteoarthritis and obstructive sleep apnea. Pfizer won Metsera in a bidding war against Novo Nordisk.
BMO cautioned that because the milestone terms were not disclosed, the ultimate cost of the arrangement is difficult to calculate, particularly if berobenatide becomes a successful commercial product. Leerink expects the deal to help Pfizer over the next two years as it approaches the April 2028 patent cliff for Eliquis, its blockbuster blood thinner. The timing reflects Pfizer's broader loss-of-exclusivity exposure.
Blackstone has pursued similar arrangements with other large pharmaceutical companies. In 2025 it agreed to provide $700 million to fund development costs for Merck's TROP2 antibody-drug conjugate sac-TMT through 2026, in exchange for royalties on net sales across approved indications. The Pfizer financing was announced a week after the company named Cecile Guegan as CFO alongside third-quarter earnings, when Pfizer reported 7% operational growth and 32% year-over-year growth in new and acquired products, including Padcev and Nurtec.
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