Published: October 13, 2025 at 1:03 pm
Shares in IP Group plc have risen 14.31% in early trading on Monday after the investment firm said it could receive future revenue linked to a series of obesity drug candidates being developed by US MedTech Metsera Inc.
Metsera was recently acquired by Pfizer in a deal worth up to $7.3 billion.
The FTSE 250 constituent, which primarily backs science and technology businesses, said it has financial exposure to a number of Metsera’s obesity programmes following its 2023 acquisition of Zihipp – a former IP Group portfolio company spun out of Imperial College London.
The London-headquartered investor owns and exclusively licenses to Zihipp intellectual property relating to several of Metsera’s compounds, including its lead candidate MET-097i, as well as MET-233, MET-034 and MET-067.
Under the licensing agreement, the company is entitled to milestone payments and tiered royalties in the low-single-digit range on eventual sales of the drugs, should they reach approval and commercial launch.