Blackstone commits up to $1.5B to fund Pfizer’s monthly obesity shot through Phase 3
- Blackstone Life Sciences will put up to $1.5B, phased through 2028, into Pfizer’s Phase 3 program for berobenatide, a potentially once-monthly GLP-1 injectable that came with the roughly $10B Metsera acquisition.
- The money backs as many as 10 pivotal studies; Pfizer owes Blackstone milestones if the drug is approved as a monthly single agent and hits sales goals, paid as multi-year distributions.
- Pfizer may run head-to-head trials against Zepbound and Wegovy, not just placebo-controlled studies.
💡 Points Based on public reports
This is Pfizer syndicating the risk of an expensive catch-up bet: it paid up to win Metsera, and now shares the Phase 3 bill so the cash can stay on Eliquis- and Ibrance-patent-cliff priorities. Blackstone’s return rides on approval and sales, so the structure only works if monthly dosing is a real differentiator against Lilly and Novo, who already have oral pills out. The open question is whether head-to-head data arrive early enough to matter commercially.
📰 Source · BioPharma Dive ↗ Blackstone bets $1.5B on Pfizer’s obesity drug