IP Group PLC (LSE:IPO) could see future royalty income from a new wave of obesity drugs being developed by Metsera, a biotech company that Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE, ETR:PFE) has agreed to buy for up to $7.3 billion.
The deal, announced in late September, includes $4.9 billion in upfront cash and gives the US pharmaceutical giant control of a portfolio of next-generation obesity treatments.
Metsera’s leading drug, known as MET-097i, has shown promising results in clinical trials and is designed to require just one injection a month, compared with the weekly jabs that dominate the market today.
IP Group, the London-listed investor in science and innovation businesses, has an indirect financial interest in several of Metsera’s drug candidates, including MET-097i.
That link stems from its 2023 sale of Zihipp, a former IP Group portfolio company that held the original intellectual property behind the drugs.
Under the terms of that deal, IP Group stands to receive milestone payments and a small percentage of future sales if the treatments are approved and reach the market.
The company said any returns would be shared equally with Imperial College London, reflecting the university’s role in the original research.
Greg Smith, IP Group’s chief executive, said: “We are encouraged by Metsera’s phase IIb results for MET-097i and its plans to initiate phase III in 2025.
“Obesity is a global health challenge and Metsera’s next generation programmes could ease pressure on healthcare systems with fewer injections and better tolerability.”
The science behind MET-097i traces back to work by Professor Steve Bloom at Imperial College, whose research in the 1990s revealed that a hormone called GLP-1 could influence appetite.
That discovery laid the groundwork for the blockbuster obesity drugs now sold by companies such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
Metsera’s early-stage results suggest its monthly injection could deliver similar benefits with greater convenience, potentially expanding access to treatment.
While IP Group’s potential earnings remain some way off and depend on future approvals, the deal highlights how its long-term investments in university spin-outs can translate into exposure to fast-growing fields such as obesity therapeutics.