Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTProsper Junior Bakiny, The Motley FoolThu, July 2, 2026 at 11:20 PM GMT+2 5 min readPfizer's (NYSE: PFE) shares have significantly underperformed broader equities over the past three years. The company's reliance on its coronavirus portfolio has been a weakness, as vaccination rates have declined, while U.S. regulators have made it harder for patients to access COVID-19 vaccines, even when they want to. Pfizer has tried to move beyond this problem. The company has expanded its pipeline through acquisitions.However, there could be even more buyout deals on the horizon for the drugmaker. Pfizer's CEO, Albert Bourla, recently boasted about the company's "very big balance sheet" and ability to pursue potentially transformative acquisitions, if need be, even after spending quite a lot on buyout deals over the past few years. If Pfizer decides to buy another company, several candidates would be particularly attractive, including Kailera Therapeutics (NASDAQ: KLRA). Here's why.Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »Image source: The Motley Fool.Like many pharmaceutical leaders, Pfizer recognizes the large and growing opportunity in the anti-obesity market. The drugmaker tried to develop several weight loss medicines in-house, but for the most part, they were failures. Last year, Pfizer made an important move to bolster its position in this market: It acquired Metsera for up to $10 billion, including potential milestone payments. Metsera's lead asset, MET-097i, aced phase 2 studies. This medicine is now in phase 3 clinical trials. But what if Pfizer were to expand its weight loss portfolio further to increase its chances of dominating this rapidly growing niche of the industry? Acquiring Kailera Therapeutics could help it do that.Kailera, which recently went public, boasts several attractive candidates for weight loss. The most advanced is ribupatide. What is noteworthy about this investigational medicine is that it mimics the actions of two separate gut hormones: GLP-1 and GIP. Some believe stimulating both hormones offers advantages not seen with medicines like MET-097i, which mimic only GLP-1. In fact, the current leader in the weight loss market, Zepbound, is a dual GLP-1 and GIP agonist that has overtaken Wegovy, a single-pathway medication.That doesn't guarantee that every dual GLP-1/GIP agonist will be successful. But if Pfizer were to acquire Kailera Therapeutics, including its leading candidate, ribupatide, the pharmaceutical leader would have a significantly stronger, more differentiated weight loss pipeline. That becomes even more evident when we look at Kailera Therapeutics' other candidates. Kailera Therapeutics is developing an oral version of ribupatide.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info