Pfizer And Roche Advance On Their Weight Loss Drug Journeys

After previously discounting a twice-daily version of its weight loss drug due to patients having difficulties tolerating it, Pfizer Inc PFE moved forward with the once-daily version. On Thursday, Pfizer revealed it will begin studies to evaluate the optimal dose of its weight lose pill during the second half of the year. With the new formulation, Pfizer continues its attempt to catch up to Eli Lilly and Company LLY and Novo Nordisk NVO who are currently dominating the weight loss drug landscape.

Pfizer Has Struggled To Catch Up To Eli Lilly And Novo Nordisk

What Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer are aiming to do is provide a more convenient alternative to injections. Throughout last year, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have enjoyed soaring demand for their injections, despite hefty price tags and limited insurance coverage.

Pfizer previously discontinued its twice daily version of the weight loss drug due to side effects like nausea and vomiting that resulted in high dropout rates in midstage trials. Before this particular setback, Pfizer already dropped another daily weight-loss drug due to safety issues. More specifically, Pfizer gave up on lotiglipron due to concerns over elevated liver enzymes that were exhibited in some patients. 

A New Hope

On Thursday, Pfizer revealed encouraging early study results support once-daily dosing for the new danuglipron. In over 1,400 healthy adult volunteers, no liver enzyme elevations were found. The pill is based on the compound danuglipron. This is a glucagon-like peptide, or GLP-1, similar to those used in popular weight-loss drugs produced by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Although Pfizer did not specify the exact timeline, it did reveal is plans to test multiple doses of the new version in order to identify the ideal one during the second half of the year before it moves ahead with clinical trials.  

Roche also unveiled promising results.

On Wednesday, Roche RHHBY also unveiled promising early-stage results for its oral weight-loss drug. Also belonging to the the GLP-1 drug class, the offering from Roche also promises to rival Eli Lilly and its Zepbound as well as Novo Nordisk and its Wegovy. Roche revealed  that patients who took its CT-996 lost 6.1% more of their body weight over a month compared to patients who took a placebo. With GLP-1 therapy CT-996, Roche promises to  help patients address both chronic weight management as well as glycemic control indications. In May, Roche unveiled promising results for a one-weekly subcutaneous shot that mimics the GLP-1 hormone as well as GIP, another hormone like GLP-1. The CT-388 is the same mechanism used by Eli Lilly's Zepbound. Over 24 weeks, Roche reported its patients lost 18.8% more weight compared to the placebo group. Therefore, the latest news is Roche's second positive readout in less than three months, reflecting that its metabolic diseases pipeline is making good progress.

For now, Pfizer remains a distant weight-loss rival.

But, as JP Morgan analyst Chris Schott pointed out, Eli Lilly has a significant time-to-market advantage over Pfizer with its experimental weight-loss pill formulation.

Obesity is a key therapeutic area for Pfizer. Moreover, CEO Albert Bourla made it clear in June that GLP-1s have only "scratched the surface" of what is yet to come on the obesity front.

What is certain and good for Pfizer is that the weight-loss market needs both injectable and oral drugs, so whoever gets to make the right formulation will undoubtedly make its mark on this front.

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