Pfizer’s internal obesity drug R&D stumbled, but the pharmaceutical giant is leaping ahead in this field through the multi-billion dollar acquisition of Metsera , a clinical-stage company whose pipeline of next-generation metabolic medicines could offer multiple points of differentiation in a crowded market of weight loss therapies.

Terms of the acquisition agreement announced Monday call for Pfizer to pay $47.50 in cash for each share of Metsera, valuing the biotech at about $4.9 billion. Pfizer could pay out up to $22.50 more per share if the drugs of New York-based Metsera achieve clinical and regulatory milestones.

Speaking during a conference call Monday, Pfizer Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Andrew Baum acknowledged that many successful obesity products are on the market,

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