Novo Nordisk has long been known as the nice kid in the class, which has previously caused the pharmaceutical company difficulties in the U.S. market. The fight over the American biotech company Metsera shows that Novo Nordisk is now flexing its muscles much more.

On Thursday, Novo Nordisk confirmed that it has made an offer of around 42 billion kroner for Metsera, a company developing promising weight-loss drugs. The bid comes just weeks after Pfizer agreed to buy the same company for 32 billion kroner plus so-called milestone payments in later stages.