LONDON — A bidding war has broken into the open for obesity-focused Metsera, with Novo Nordisk on Thursday saying it had made an offer for the biotech, a month after Pfizer announced its plan to purchase the firm. 

The Novo offer, what it called “an unsolicited proposal,” reflects the pressure pharma companies are under to gain an edge in the white-hot obesity market. It also seems to have gained traction with Metsera.

After Novo announced its move, which Pfizer called “reckless and unprecedented,” Metsera issued a statement saying it considered the Danish firm’s offer “superior” and delivered a notice to Pfizer saying as much. Under the terms of its agreement with Pfizer, Metsera said, that notice now means Pfizer has four business days to renegotiate the terms of its offer.

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BERLIN — For years, scientists have held out hope that tests that look for the molecular fingerprints of a cancer’s presence could help clinicians determine which patients need further treatment after surgery, and which can be considered truly cured after an operation. Perhaps, the thinking goes, those in the latter category could be spared from unnecessary, expensive therapies that can carry serious side effects.

A study presented here Monday bolstered the case that such tests, which detect circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA, that cancer cells slough off into the blood, could be effective tools. 

Researchers used the diagnostics to identify patients who appeared to have remnants of muscle-invasive bladder cancer after surgery, and directed them to treatment. Those who tested negative were allowed to live treatment-free, and were ultimately found to be at low risk of recurrence. 

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