Factbox-Weight-loss drug developers line up to tap lucrative market as competition heats up

Sept 22 — The weight-loss drug market is booming, with biotech firms racing to capture a slice of the fast-growing sector dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

Analysts expect the weight-loss sector to generate about $100 billion in annual sales in the next decade.

The following is a list of weight-loss drugs in development by Novo, Lilly and other companies chasing the next blockbuster treatment:

NOVO NORDISK

Novo Nordisk CEO ​Mike Doustdar said in August investors are underestimating the demand for differentiation among obesity drugs and that new treatment options like pills will keep it from becoming a winner-take-all battle with rival Eli Lilly.

The company is also developing several experimental weight-loss drugs – a next-generation injection called amycretin and CagriSema, touted as a potent successor to Wegovy.

Amycretin, which targets GLP-1 and amylin hormones, showed statistically significant weight loss of up to 14.5% at 36 weeks in patients with type 2 diabetes in a mid-stage study.

CagriSema produced weaker-than-expected data in two separate late-stage trials. The drug helped overweight ‌patients cut their weight by 22.7% in one of the trials, below Novo's expectations of 25%.

Novo said at an investor briefing that CagriSema delivered an estimated average weight loss of 12.4% in a late-stage trial in patients with diabetes, outperforming Eli Lilly's rival drug, tirzepatide.

Novo filed a marketing application for potential US approval of CagriSema in December.

It has also struck licensing deals for drugs in earlier stages of testing, including ⁠a deal worth up to $2 billion with China-based United Laboratories for its "triple-G" weight-loss drug candidate that targets three hormones.

PFIZER

Pfizer, through a buyout last year, gained access ​to Metsera's obesity drugs, such as MET-097i — a GLP-1 therapy designed for a once-monthly injection, compared with weekly treatments from Lilly and Novo.

The drug, now ⁠known as PF-3944, led to up to 12.3% weight loss in patients without diabetes, with no plateau observed at week 28, when given as a monthly injection, Pfizer said in February.

Pfizer said it is targeting 2028 for its first approval in the fast-growing weight-loss drug market.

Pfizer's monthly obesity shot showed a side-effect profile similar to ‌rival Novo Nordisk's weekly Wegovy injection, according to data presented at a medical ‌meeting in June.

ELI LILLY

Lilly's orforglipron, branded as Foundayo, became the second oral pill for weight loss to gain US approval.

Orforglipron helped maintain weight loss in patients switching from Lilly's GLP-1 injection, Zepbound, and Danish rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, Lilly said in December.

Britain's ⁠medicines regulator approved Foundayo in August, making the country the first in Europe to greenlight the oral medicine for diabetes and weight management.

Eli Lilly said at an industry conference in September that it has captured ⁠more than 30% of new patients in the US market for oral obesity treatments, narrowing the early lead gained by Novo with its Wegovy pill.

Lilly's next-generation obesity drug retatrutide showed a significant reduction in blood sugar levels and weight in a late-stage trial in March.

In May, Lilly said retatrutide helped patients lose more than 28% weight over 18 months in a key trial, positioning the drug for potential regulatory submission and a possible launch of the next-generation drug next year.

Last year, Lilly said it was advancing its experimental once-weekly amylin-based obesity drug, eloralintide, into late-stage trials after it helped patients lose up to 20.1% weight in a mid-stage study.

ROCHE

Roche's experimental dual-acting obesity drug, enicepatide, helped overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes lower blood sugar levels and lose an average 15.5% of their body weight in a mid-stage trial.

The company plans to start late-stage glycemic-control and cardiovascular outcomes studies in the first half of 2027.

Enicepatide was acquired through a $2.7 billion purchase of US biotech firm Carmot Therapeutics in 2023.

Its other experimental obesity drug, which it is developing with Denmark's Zealand Pharma, helped patients lose up to 10.7% body weight in a mid-stage study in March.

AMGEN

Amgen is currently conducting six late-stage trials ‌of experimental drug MariTide across obesity and related conditions such as heart disease and sleep apnea.

It plans to begin late-stage trials of the drug for diabetes patients this year.

In January, an extension study found that MariTide helped people maintain ​weight loss when given at a lower dose or less frequently.

In 2024, data showed MariTide helped overweight patients shed up to 20% of their body weight in a year-long mid-stage trial.

MERCK

Merck in 2024 signed a licensing deal worth up to $2 billion for Chinese biotech Hansoh Pharma's experimental oral drug to treat obesity, becoming a late contender in the race to offer a weight-loss pill to replace weekly shots.

The drug, HS-10535, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist candidate similar to Wegovy and Zepbound.

VIKING THERAPEUTICS

Viking Therapeutics said in September that overweight adults with obesity maintained up to 97% of the weight loss achieved with its experimental obesity drug VK2735 after switching from weekly injections to every-other-week dosing for three months in a maintenance study.

Patients who switched to monthly dosing maintained up to 90% of their prior weight loss, compared with 61% for those switched to placebo, the company said.

The company said in February it plans to test its experimental oral obesity drug in a late-stage study later this year.

Viking said last year its oral weight-loss drug, VK2735, helped patients lose 12.2% of their body weight after 13 weeks in a mid-stage trial of 280 overweight adults, missing Wall Street's top-end expectations of 15%.

SCHOLAR ROCK

Last year, the company said its experimental drug, apitegromab, combined with Lilly's Zepbound, helped patients preserve significantly more lean mass in a mid-stage trial.

In Scholar Rock's study, patients who received a combination of tirzepatide — the active ingredient in Zepbound — and Scholar's apitegromab lost 3.4 pounds of lean mass after 24 weeks, compared with those on ​tirzepatide alone, who lost 7.6 pounds of lean mass.

ASTRAZENECA

AstraZeneca in January said it will license experimental drugs for obesity and weight-related conditions from CSPC Pharmaceutical Group and collaborate on other projects, paying $1.2 billion upfront and up to $17.3 billion more if milestones are met.

The newly licensed drug candidates from CSPC include SYH2082, which is designed for once-monthly dosing, which can help patients stick to weight-loss therapy for longer.

The company in ‌June said patients ‌lost 10.5% of their body weight after 26 weeks in a mid-stage trial ⁠of its experimental obesity pill, elecoglipron.

STRUCTURE THERAPEUTICS

The company said its once-daily pill, aleniglipron, helped patients lose up to 16.3% or 39 lbs on the 180 mg dose after 44 weeks, compared with a placebo, in a mid-stage trial in March.

In June, the company said its experimental GLP-1 obesity pill showed no signs of drug-induced liver injury, while patients continued to lose weight even at lower doses.

Structure said 10.4% of patients taking the experimental small-molecule drug, aleniglipron, discontinued treatment.

BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM

Boehringer Ingelheim said in June its experimental obesity drug cut visceral and liver fat while minimizing loss of lean mass in a late-stage study.

The drug, survodutide, licensed from Zealand Pharma, is an injectable that mimics the proteins GLP-1 and glucagon to create a feeling of fullness. Trial results announced in April showed patients lost an average of 16.6% of their weight over 76 weeks.

KAILERA THERAPEUTICS

Kailera Therapeutics said in July its oral obesity drug, HRS-7535, known as KAI-7535 outside Greater China, helped patients lose an average 10.9% of their body weight after 44 ‌weeks, compared with 2.5% for placebo, and a mean weight loss of up ​to 11.1% at week 50.

Kailera is also advancing HRS-7535 in a global mid-stage clinical trial in overweight or obese adults. The trial started in April, with data expected next year.

In February, Kailera's ‌once-daily drug, ribupatide, helped patients lose up to 12.1% body weight at 26 ⁠weeks in a mid-stage study in China.

Partner Hengrui Pharma will test oral ​ribupatide in a late-stage obesity trial in China, while Kailera plans to start a global mid-stage trial this year. An injectable ribupatide is currently being evaluated in a global late-stage study.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny, Siddhi Mahatole, Padmanabhan Ananthan, Kamal Choudhury, Sriparna Roy, Sneha S K Puyaan Singh and Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Tasim Zahid, Leroy ​Leo, Shailesh Kuber, Devika Syamnath and Shreya Biswas)

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