NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — United States pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will acquire Metsera, a maker of drugs for obesity and heart disease, for $4.9 billion, the companies said Monday.

With the purchase Pfizer aims to expand its portfolio by entering the huge and growing market for medicines to treat obesity.

“Obesity is a large and growing space with over 200 health conditions associated with it,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in the statement.

“The proposed acquisition of Metsera aligns with our focus on directing our investments to the most impactful opportunities and propels Pfizer into this key therapeutic area,” he said.

Pfizer will acquire all outstanding shares of Metsera common stock for $47.50 per share, in a deal expected to close in the final quarter of this year.

Pharmaceutical companies are eager to get into the obesity and diabetes medicine business following the success of Danish firm Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy drugs, and US giant Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.

Pfizer was one of the first companies to develop a Covid vaccine in a hugely profitable breakthrough, but its stock has fallen since the pandemic ended, from $58 a share in December 2021 to $24 a share at Friday’s close in New York.

In electronic trading before the opening of Wall Street on Monday, Pfizer was up 1.6 percent while Metsera soared by 60 percent.