Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) is preparing to broaden its presence in the global obesity market, with a particular emphasis on pill-based therapies, Chief Financial Officer Dave Denton said during the Jefferies Healthcare Conference in London.
Denton explained that the company has around $5 billion earmarked for potential acquisitions over “the next couple years.”
Both Pfizer and its newly acquired Metsera unit are advancing oral drug candidates that are currently in preclinical or early-stage development. “We just made a big bet on Metsera,” Denton said, adding that “We may supplement that asset with smaller molecules over time.”
In addition to obesity drugs, Pfizer is also exploring opportunities to reinforce its inflammation and immunology offerings.
Denton highlighted that Pfizer’s push into oral obesity treatments is not expected to require substantial capital outlays. “We will have to reconfigure a bit of our production lines, but they’re relatively minor incremental investment,” he said.