In a significant move to expand its presence in the obesity drug market, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has entered into a licensing agreement worth up to $1.65 billion with Danish biotechnology company Zealand Pharma. The deal, announced Wednesday, centers around petrelintide, Zealand’s experimental obesity treatment that entered Phase 2b trials in December.
The agreement includes an upfront payment of $1.4 billion to Zealand, with an additional $250 million in anniversary payments. The total value could reach $5.3 billion if certain milestones are achieved. Both companies will share profits and losses while co-commercializing the drug in the United States and European markets.
This strategic acquisition gives Roche access to an amylin analog, a drug class that was notably absent from its portfolio even after its $2.7 billion purchase of Carmot Therapeutics last year. Roche intends to explore combining petrelintide with its existing obesity
treatments, with Zealand potentially contributing $350 million toward development costs.
The obesity drug market has become increasingly competitive, with analysts projecting annual sales to reach $100 billion. The surge in amylin analog development follows similar moves by other
pharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie’s recent $350 million licensing agreement with Gubra.
Despite some industry skepticism following Novo Nordisk’s mixed results with its combination treatment CagriSema, which pairs an amylin-targeting drug with Wegovy’s active ingredient, pharmaceutical companies remain interested in amylin-stimulating medications. While CagriSema showed improvements over Wegovy alone, it failed to outperform Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, which combines GLP-1 and GIP hormone targets.
William Blair analyst Andy Hsieh suggests that GLP-1/GIP combinations currently offer the most promising approach for widespread weight loss treatment while maintaining manageable side effects. Nevertheless, amylin-targeting drugs have demonstrated weight loss benefits and could prove valuable in combination therapies.
The field of amylin agent development has attracted numerous players, including Novo Nordisk, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, and startup Metsera. Under the new agreement, Roche plans to develop petrelintide both as a standalone treatment and in combination with other drugs, particularly focusing on a fixed-dose combination with CT-388, a GLP-1/GIP combination drug acquired from Carmot.
A crucial aspect of the deal involves Roche taking responsibility for commercial manufacturing and supply, addressing a potential challenge that Zealand would have faced launching the drug independently. This is particularly significant given the supply challenges experienced by both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in meeting the extraordinary demand for their obesity medications. The manufacturing commitment from Roche comes as welcome news to industry analysts, with Tsieh specifically noting the positive implications of Roche’s manufacturing
responsibility.
The agreement represents a significant milestone in Roche’s obesity drug strategy and highlights the pharmaceutical industry’s growing focus on weight loss treatments. It follows a trend of major pharmaceutical companies securing partnerships and assets in the rapidly expanding obesity drug market, as demonstrated by recent deals involving AbbVie, Merck, and other industry leaders.
The collaboration between Roche and Zealand Pharma reflects the broader industry trend of combining different therapeutic approaches to develop more effective obesity treatments, while also addressing the critical aspects of manufacturing and supply chain management that have posed challenges in the commercialization of similar drugs.