Viking Therapeutics said Tuesday that its experimental drug helped obese patients achieve “significant” weight loss in an interim study.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are so far the leaders in the weight-loss drug market, which is estimated to be worth $100 billion by the end of the decade, with their powerful new drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, respectively.
Below is a list of publicly traded companies targeting the next big blockbuster:
NOVO NORDISK
Novo Nordisk said a large study had shown that its highly effective anti-obesity drug Wegovy also had a clear cardiovascular benefit. Wegovy, which uses the same active ingredient as Novo’s diabetes drug Ozempic, was approved in 2021.
The drugmaker in June reported late-stage trial data from an oral version of its high-dose drug, semaglutide, that helped overweight or obese adults lose 15% of their body weight, which was in line with recent results for other experimental obesity pills .
The company said Monday that it has closed three Catalent filling plants – in Anagni, Italy; Brussels, Belgium; and Bloomington, Indiana – from Novo Holdings for $11 billion to help boost Wegovy’s production. The locations will be acquired after Novo Holdings completes the acquisition of Catalent.
I mean LILLY
Eli Lilly’s weight-loss therapy, Zepbound, recently got the green light from US and UK regulators, paving the way for a powerful new rival to Novo’s Wegovy.
The company reported revenue of $175.8 million for Zepbound in the first weeks after launch. The drug, chemically known as tirzepatide, has been available as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes since 2022 and has been used “off-label” for weight loss.
Lilly said an interim study of its next-generation obesity drug candidate, a once-weekly injection of retatrutide, showed it led to weight loss of up to 24.2% after 48 weeks.
PFIZER
Pfizer said in December it was halting further testing of a twice-daily version of its oral weight-loss drug danugliprone.
The decision was made after most patients in a mid-stage trial dropped out with high rates of side effects such as nausea and vomiting.
The company said it will instead focus on a once-daily modified-release version of danugliprone. Data on the interaction of this version with the human body is expected next year.
Pfizer had halted development of its once-daily pill earlier in June over liver safety concerns.
ROCHE EN CARMOT THERAPEUTICS
The company acquired CT-388 as part of its $2.7 billion acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics. Carmot’s once-a-week injection is in the same league as Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, or Zepbound.
The newly acquired drug candidate has completed early-stage trials and is ready for human testing in the second of three phases of research, Roche said.
AMGEN
AMG133, Amgen’s experimental obesity drug, showed an average weight loss of 14.5% after 12 weeks of treatment at the highest monthly dose.
ALTIMMUNE
Altimmune said its drug candidate, pemvidutide, helped reduce weight by an average of 15.6% and that weight loss was sustained at the end of treatment in an interim study.
However, patients also experienced mild and moderate nausea and vomiting.
VIKING THERAPEUTICS
Viking’s interim study data showed that VK2735 helped obese patients achieve “significant” weight loss.
VK2735 helped patients achieve up to 14.7% average weight loss after 13 weeks of treatment, according to data from the study that included 176 overweight adults with at least one weight-related comorbidity.
ZEALAND FARMA
Denmark’s Zealand Pharma and Boehringer Ingelheim’s experimental obesity treatment achieved up to 14.9% weight loss in an interim study on Wednesday.
OPKO HEALTH
Opko Health has completed a mid-stage trial of its anti-obesity drug pegapamodutide, which it expects will have fewer side effects. (Reporting by Mariam Sunny, Pratik Jain, Sriparna Roy, Leroy Leo and Sneha SK in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Pooja Desai)
2024-02-27 18:15:32
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