Pfizer advances weight-loss pill development

July 11, 2024 (MLN): Pfizer Inc. is moving forward with a weight-loss pill as the drugmaker seeks to crack the multibillion-dollar market for obesity medications, as Bloomberg reported.

The once-daily treatment, called danuglipron, will progress to a mid-stage study in the second half of this year, Pfizer said Thursday, having cleared a scientific hurdle in a small study. If the drug succeeds, it will move into the final stage of development.

Pfizer shares rose 2.9% in early trading at 6:47am New York time.

The daily pill is designed as a needle-free alternative to popular weight-loss shots from Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co.

Pfizer has said it expects pills to eventually capture about a third of the obesity drug market. Analysts have predicted weight loss drug sales will reach $130 billion by the end of the decade.

Pfizer has struggled to make headway in treating obesity. Late last year, the company halted development of a twice-daily version of danuglipron after high rates of nausea and vomiting led patients to drop out of a mid-stage study of about 1,400 people.

Months earlier, it abandoned another oral obesity drug that showed concerning liver effects in a trial.

The company is years behind Novo as well as Lilly, whose weekly Zepbound shot is poised for blockbuster sales after gaining US approval last year.

Lilly also has an oral obesity treatment in the final stage of development. AstraZeneca Plc, Structure Therapeutics Inc., and other companies are also developing oral drugs.

Pfizer studied the once-daily version of danuglipron in a trial enrolling just 20 people, Bloomberg cited a federal registry as saying, testing four doses to determine which might be most effective.

The company is searching for new products to help arrest its post-pandemic decline.

Sales fell 20% in the first quarter of 2024 as demand plummeted for its Covid-19 vaccine and pill.

Pfizer’s financial forecast for this year came in well below Wall Street’s expectations and its vaccine for RSV has underperformed.

Pfizer’s daily anti-obesity pill is designed to mimic the effects of Novo’s blockbuster injectable semaglutide, sold as Wegovy and Ozempic.

Copyright Mettis Link News