The Delaware Court of Chancery has rejected Pfizer's request for a temporary restraining order against its rival Novo Nordisk.
The legal action aimed to stop Metsera's Board of Directors from considering another acquisition offer submitted by Novo.
The judge ruled that Pfizer had not demonstrated that Metsera breached its merger agreement by invoking the fiduciary clause to consider Novo’s offer and therefore determined that court intervention in the ongoing bidding process was unwarranted at this stage.
As a result, Metsera is free to consider and accept Novo's proposal.
Metsera has issued a response to the court's decision, saying it is "gratified by the Delaware Court of Chancery's decision to deny Pfizer's request for a temporary restraining order to block Metsera's Board of Directors from acting in the best interests of shareholders."
Pfizer has meanwhile doubled down on its position, asserting that Metsera breached contractual obligations and that Metsera’s directors failed to act in shareholders’ best interests.
The pharma giant also said the court’s decision does not address the merits of the underlying legal issues.
Metsera has called the litigation "spurious".
Novo Nordisk has welcomed the news; however, the Danish company is not out of the woods yet.
The company is under scrutiny after the US Federal Trade Commission raised concerns over its proposed acquisition of Metsera.
In a letter to Novo and Metsera lawyers, the FTC warned that the current deal proposal may violate procedural laws governing mergers.
This could slow or complicate the transaction.