Investors responded positively Monday to encouraging early clinical trial results from Metsera’s experimental obesity treatment, which demonstrated meaningful weight reduction and potential for monthly dosing.
The company’s drug candidate, MET-233i, helped participants lose up to 8% of their body weight over a 5-week period in an early-phase study. The results suggest the amylin-targeting therapy could offer advantages over existing treatments through less frequent dosing.
The trial, which enrolled 160 participants, was primarily designed to evaluate safety and biological activity while also measuring initial weight loss outcomes. Researchers conducted the study in two parts – one testing single injections at various dose levels against placebo, and another comparing different weekly dosing regimens.
The most substantial weight reduction occurred in the cohort receiving five weekly 1.2-milligram doses, where participants shed an average of 8% of their starting weight after 36 days. While all eight subjects in this highest-dose group experienced nausea, and other participants reported gastrointestinal side effects similar to those seen with current obesity medications, these adverse events were largely limited to the first week of treatment.
Importantly, the drug demonstrated a half-life of 19 days, suggesting it could potentially be administered just once monthly – a significant advantage over currently available options that require more frequent dosing.
The results arrive as pharmaceutical companies race to develop new approaches to treating obesity, building on the success of drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. While these
established medications target hormones called incretins, particularly GLP-1, attention is increasingly turning to amylin as a promising alternative target.
Several major players have already staked claims in the amylin space. Novo Nordisk is testing a combination of Wegovy’s active ingredient with an amylin-targeting compound. Eli Lilly has advanced its own amylin therapy to mid-stage trials. Roche committed over $1 billion to access Zealand Pharma’s amylin program, while AbbVie recently acquired rights to a candidate from Gubra.
Metsera, which completed a $275 million initial public offering in January as one of just six biotech companies to go public so far in 2025, has seen its stock value climb steadily – a notable achievement in the current market environment. Shares rose another 10% in early Monday trading to approximately $30.
Industry analysts reacted favorably to the data. Evercore ISI’s Umer Raffat characterized the results as “solid,” while noting direct comparisons to Gubra’s program are difficult due to differences in trial design. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Prakhar Agrawal highlighted that the observed weight loss exceeded investor expectations of 3-5%, and emphasized that monthly dosing could differentiate MET-233i both as a standalone therapy and in combination treatments.
The company plans to continue development of MET-233i as both a monotherapy and in combination with another obesity drug in its pipeline, positioning it to potentially compete in an increasingly crowded but rapidly growing market for obesity treatments.
These early results mark an important milestone for Metsera as it works to establish itself among the numerous pharmaceutical companies pursuing improved obesity therapies with different mechanisms of action, better efficacy, or more convenient dosing schedules than currently available options.
Be First to Comment