Drugmakers press for roles in the next phase of obesity treatment
Companies are pitching pills, longer-lasting shots and new hormone targets as Lilly and Novo lead the fast-growing obesity drug market.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Drugmakers are racing to show doctors and investors how they can compete in obesity medicine as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk build early leads in pills and injections. CNBC reported that companies used the American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Sessions in New Orleans to promote new oral drugs, less frequent injections and treatments that move beyond GLP-1s.
The push comes as patients and insurers are still adjusting to the current generation of weight-loss medicines. Lilly and Novo have recently introduced GLP-1 pills, while existing shots such as Wegovy and Zepbound remain central to the market, according to CNBC.
New pills chase the market leaders
CNBC reported that Lilly and Novo both argued their oral drugs are widening the market by reaching people who may not want injections. Novo said prescriptions for its Wegovy pill topped 3 million within five months of launch.
Several other companies are trying to follow. Structure Therapeutics and AstraZeneca presented mid-stage data for their GLP-1 pills, according to CNBC. If those drugs succeed in Phase 3 studies, CNBC reported, they would likely arrive around 2029, roughly three years after Lilly’s small-molecule pill Foundayo. Novo’s Wegovy pill is an oral peptide.
Structure Therapeutics CEO Ray Stevens told CNBC that he expects competition to leave enough room for later entrants and said the company is working to become the second small-molecule obesity pill behind Lilly’s orforglipron, now called Foundayo.
Less frequent shots and new targets
Pfizer also presented mid-stage data for an injectable drug it acquired through its $10 billion purchase of Metsera, CNBC reported. The company sees potential for monthly dosing, compared with weekly shots now used by many patients.
Amgen is studying a separate drug that could be given monthly or possibly quarterly. Susan Sweeney, Amgen’s executive vice president of obesity and related conditions, told CNBC that a treatment taken as few as four times a year could reduce the burden for people who have lived with obesity for a long time.
Other companies are aiming at hormones beyond GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. Zealand Pharma, working with Roche, presented mid-stage data for petrelintide, an amylin-based drug. CNBC reported that the shot helped patients lose almost 11% of body weight, below results seen with Wegovy and Zepbound, while Zealand said fewer people on the drug vomited than those receiving placebo.
Zealand CEO Adam Steensberg told CNBC he expects amylin drugs to appeal to patients seeking a better treatment experience than current GLP-1 medicines. Lilly is also developing an amylin analogue, eloralintide, which CNBC reported is already in Phase 3 trials.
Lilly’s retatrutide raises the bar
Lilly presented Phase 3 data for retatrutide, a drug that activates GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors, according to CNBC. At the highest dose, patients who took the drug as prescribed lost an average of 28% of their body weight.
Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC the drug could help people with a body mass index above 40 reach healthier weight levels. He said nearly half of patients in the study lost more than 30% of body weight.
Investors are weighing whether Lilly and Novo will keep control of the market or whether rivals can take meaningful share. CNBC cited World Health Organization figures showing about 2.5 billion people globally are overweight and 890 million are obese.
Goldman Sachs analyst Asad Haider told CNBC that demand is not the main issue; pricing is. CNBC reported that Lilly and Novo have cut prices on weight-loss shots while competing with each other and with compounding pharmacies, and that millions of Medicare seniors are expected to gain access to the medicines for $50 a month out of pocket in a few weeks.
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar told CNBC that obesity treatment may split into more distinct categories over time, similar to how mental health care developed separate approaches for different conditions. Drugmakers are betting that shift will create openings for many kinds of medicines, from pills to long-acting injections to new hormone-based therapies.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.