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Competition is intensifying among the drugmakers chasing Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which dominate the global obesity drug market. With Phase 3 results and regulatory filings for major candidates expected to follow one after another beginning next year, the next one to two years are set to be a watershed for the market landscape
Amgen recently halted further development of AMG 513, an obesity drug candidate it had been developing in Phase 1, according to the industry on the 17th. The move is seen as a strategic choice to concentrate development capacity and re to speed up commercialization
MariTide is an obesity drug candidate designed to activate the GLP-1 receptor while inhibiting the GIP receptor. It is being developed as a long-acting treatment with a longer dosing interval than existing once-weekly GLP-1 drugs
Amgen is accelerating development with a large-scale Phase 3 trial of MariTide now underway. It is expanding the scope beyond obese and overweight patients to obesity-related comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart failure and obstructive sleep apnea. With major Phase 3 results expected to come out sequentially starting next year, MariTide is regarded as a leading candidate to follow Lilly and Novo Nordisk
Pfizer has also joined the chase, leading with verobenatide, a long-acting GLP-1 treatment it secured through its acquisition of Metsera. It is speeding up development this year with 10 Phase 3 trials targeting chronic weight management and obesity-related comorbidities
Verobenatide, the centerpiece of Pfizer’s obesity pipeline, is an injectable being developed for once-monthly dosing. Pfizer is focused on the possibility that the candidate is comparable to Mounjaro and could show a higher level of weight-loss effect than Wegovy. The company points to the convenience of once-monthly dosing, high efficacy and favorable gastrointestinal tolerability as its competitive strengths. With a 2028 launch as its goal, proving efficacy and safety in future Phase 3 trials is the key.
Among oral drugs, Structure Therapeutics is standing out. Its once-daily oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, aleniglipron, showed weight loss of up to 16.3% versus placebo at 44 weeks in a Phase 2 trial
In the second half of the year, the company plans to release additional data, including a body-composition analysis of patients treated with aleniglipron and the effect of switching to aleniglipron from existing injectable GLP-1 treatments. If it also proves its competitiveness in later-stage trials, the possibility of partnerships or mergers and acquisitions with global pharmaceutical companies draws attention
Ha Heon-ho, a researcher at Shinhan Securities, said, “This is the stage where the achievements of obesity drug runners-up are taking concrete shape,” adding, “As major runners-up such as Structure Therapeutics, Amgen and Pfizer pursue development targeting approval filings and market launches in 2027-2028, the sorting of winners from losers based on Phase 3 results will begin in earnest.”
#ObesityDrugs#GLP1#Amgen#Pfizer#WeightLoss#Biotech#StructureTherapeutics
Original reporting by Lee Jung-min for Seoul Economic Daily
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreignxact original wording
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