In a significant move to strengthen its position in the competitive obesity drug market, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has entered into a licensing agreement with United Laboratories
International Holdings, a China-based biotechnology company. The deal, announced Monday, involves an upfront payment of $200 million for the rights to UBT251, an experimental weight loss medication.
The agreement grants Novo Nordisk commercialization rights for the drug in all territories except China and its immediate neighboring markets. The deal structure includes potential additional payments of up to $1.8 billion tied to various development milestones, plus royalties on future sales in Novo’s territories.
UBT251 represents a new generation of obesity treatments known as “triple agonists,” which target multiple metabolic pathways
simultaneously. Early clinical data has shown promising results, with trial participants who completed the study experiencing an average weight reduction of 15.1% over 12 weeks, compared to a 1.5% weight gain in the placebo group. The drug’s safety profile appears comparable to existing treatments in its class.
This strategic acquisition comes at a crucial time for Novo Nordisk, which faces increasing competition from Eli Lilly’s Zepbound in the obesity treatment market. While Novo maintains a leadership position with Wegovy, generating $8.4 billion in sales during 2024, Lilly’s Zepbound has been gaining ground rapidly, achieving $4.9 billion in sales during the same period.
The addition of UBT251 to Novo’s pipeline is particularly significant as it has already completed Phase 1 dosing trials, potentially accelerating its development timeline. This could help Novo compete with Lilly’s retatrutide, another triple-agonist currently in advanced development with Phase 3 results expected next year.
Martin Holst Lange, Novo’s executive vice president for development, emphasized the strategic importance of the acquisition, stating that adding a drug targeting glucagon, GLP-1, and GIP pathways provides valuable options in their clinical pipeline as they work to develop diverse treatment solutions for obesity.
The deal adds to Novo’s already substantial obesity drug portfolio, which includes CagriSema, a GLP-1/amylin combination drug, an obesity-focused version of their diabetes pill Rybelsus, and various other combination therapies targeting different metabolic pathways.
This licensing agreement reflects the increasingly competitive landscape in obesity drug development, where pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop more effective treatments. Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have previously faced manufacturing capacity challenges to meet the surging demand for their existing obesity medications, leading to substantial investments in production infrastructure.
The obesity drug market has attracted numerous other major players, including Amgen, Pfizer, Zealand Pharma, and Viking Therapeutics, all working to develop their own weight loss treatments. This heightened competition has driven innovation in the field, with companies exploring various therapeutic approaches and combinations to achieve better weight loss outcomes.
The development of triple agonists represents a significant
advancement in obesity treatment, building upon the success of earlier GLP-1 drugs. By simultaneously targeting multiple metabolic pathways, these newer medications aim to achieve greater weight loss efficacy while maintaining manageable side effect profiles.
With this latest acquisition, Novo Nordisk demonstrates its commitment to maintaining its leadership position in the obesity treatment market, while acknowledging the need to continually innovate and expand its pipeline to stay ahead of growing competition.