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

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 British health regulator approved a pill version of Novo's blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy in June, bolstering the Danish drugmaker's first-to-market lead against Lilly. The pill also won European approval in July. Lilly won US approval for its weight-loss pill orforglipron in April, more than three months after Novo secured clearance for the Wegovy pill, as the multibillion-dollar market shifts toward oral therapies. ### Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk's 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 European Medicines Agency recommended approval of the Wegovy pill in May, clearing the way for it to become the first entry to European markets. 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. Novo's semaglutide, the active ingredient found in Ozempic and Wegovy cut obesity rates in children aged 6 to under 12 in a late-stage trial. ### Pfizer Through a buyout last year, Pfizer 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 given 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 added that 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. The compound, called berobenatide, had a mean nausea rate of about 38% and a mean vomiting rate of about 23.3% in the study. The drugmaker plans to advance more than 20 clinical trials involving obesity treatments this year. ### Eli Lilly and Roche 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 its GLP-1 injection, Zepbound, and rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, Lilly said in December. Britain's medicines regulator approved Lilly's Foundayo in August, becoming the first country 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 Danish rival Novo Nordisk 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% of their weight over a year and a half in a key trial, positioning the drug for potential regulatory submission and a possible launch of the next-generation drug next year. Data presented at a medical meeting in June also showed retatrutide reduced sleep apnea severity while boosting weight loss and easing knee pain. Eli Lilly said in July that two more late-stage trials of its experimental obesity drug retatrutide showed positive results and it plans to submit an application to the US Food and Drug Administration in the first quarter of next year. Investors were also encouraged by results for the lower 4 mg dose, which produced weight loss of about 19%, comparable to the highest dose of Lilly's blockbuster obesity treatment Zepbound. Last year, Lilly said it is advancing its experimental once-weekly amylin-based obesity drug, eloralintide, into late-stage trials after it helped patients lose up to 20.1% of their weight in a mid-stage study. The company also signed a deal worth up to $1.3 billion with Superluminal Medicines last year to discover and develop small-molecule drugs through AI to treat obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases. Roche's experimental obesity drug, which works in a similar way to Lilly's Zepbound, produced as much as 22.5% weight loss in a mid-stage trial in January, underpinning the Swiss drugmaker's efforts to catch up with dominant rivals. Roche's experimental obesity drug CT-388 - a once-weekly injection - 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% of their body weight in a mid-stage study in March. Roche in June said that patients lost 22.7% of their body weight in a mid-stage trial of its dual-acting experimental obesity drug, with more than a quarter of those who received the highest dose achieving at least 30% weight loss. ### 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 of the drug for diabetes patients this year. In January, an extension study of 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 In 2024, Merck signed a licensing deal worth up to $2 billion for Chinese biotech Hansoh Pharma's 3692.HK 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 June it began early-stage trial of VK3019 for treatment of metabolic disorders and obesity. The company in February said it plans to test its experimental oral obesity drug in a late-stage study later this year. The company plans to advance a tablet form of its experimental weight-loss drug, VK2735, into late-stage studies in the third quarter of this year. Last year, Viking Therapeutics said 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, AstraZeneca, Structure Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim and Kailera Therapeutics Last year, Scholar Rock 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 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 British-Swedish drugmaker has also licensed an experimental weight-loss pill from China's EccoGene. 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. Weight loss continued progressively over time, with obese or overweight adults receiving the highest dose of elecoglipron achieving a mean reduction of 11.8% of their body weight by week 36 - the full duration of the trial - according to study results. Structure Therapeutics 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 another study, patients receiving a lower dose experienced 16.2% weight loss at 56 weeks. The company said the results support advancement to late-stage development, expected to initiate in the second half of 2026, following an FDA meeting in the second quarter. 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 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 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.

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

Market outlook and regulatory backdrop

Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Roche

Novo Nordisk

Pfizer

Eli Lilly and Roche

Amgen, Merck, Viking Therapeutics and other developers

Amgen

Merck

Viking Therapeutics

Scholar Rock, AstraZeneca, Structure Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim and Kailera Therapeutics

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