Danish biotech Zealand Pharma is targeting the “next generation” of fat burning medicines as rivals load right into a market controlled by heavyweights Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Adam Steensberg informed Thursday that early-stage tests of its speculative weight problems shot indicate higher-quality fat burning– with decreased muscular tissue loss and less adverse effects– versus typical GLP-1 therapies. The business is currently hunting for a worldwide pharma company to companion with, he included.
“Our focus is really what’s needed in the 2030s, and it’s really about establishing, you can say, the next-generation molecules that are not based on GLP-1s,” Steensberg claimed.
Last month, Zealand Pharma revealed favorable top-line results from a stage 1b test of its weight-loss medication, a GLP-1/ GLP-2 receptor double agonist calledDapiglutide It places the business head-to-head with significant weight problems gamers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, whose GLP-1s Wegovy and Zepbound, specifically, have actually blown up in appeal for their fat burning results.
However, Steensberg claimed it’s the business’s different weight problems medication prospect, Petrelintide, a long-acting amylin analog, which might establish it in addition to the competitors, providing an option for customers that can not endure GLP-1s.
“That’s what we call our crown jewel. This is the one where we have the highest expectations,” Steensberg claimed.
“We have a very strong feeling that this could become a foundational therapy in the future â something that provides the weight loss that patients are looking for but with the potential for a better tolerability profile,” he included.
Zealand Pharma
Amylin analogs are an incipient type of fat burning therapy. They job by simulating a hormonal agent that is co-secreted with insulin in the pancreatic to boost satiation. This varies from GLP-1 agonists, which simulate incretin hormonal agents generated in the digestive tract to subdue hunger and manage blood sugar level.
“It’s two very different human experiences,” Steensberg claimed, contrasting GLP-1s with amylin analogs. “If you work on satiety, it will be a more pleasant experience. So once you get into it, you can stay long-term [on the] treatment.”
Novo Nordisk is additionally try out its very own variation of the therapy, incorporating the GLP-1 part Semaglutide with amylin analog Cagrilintide in a prospect called CagriSema.
In June, Zealand Pharma additionally revealed favorable arise from a stage 1b test of Petrelintide, which revealed that a training course of 16 regular shots decreased body weight by as much as 8.6% generally.
The business claimed as the searchings for revealed “robust support” for the medication’s capacity as an option to GLP-1s. Following the biotech company’s first-half lead to August, Steensberg upped the stake, claiming amylin analogs have the prospective to come to be “the future backbone therapy for weight management.”
“If we can develop a molecule that is giving patients the weight loss they’re looking for with a very benign tolerability profile, and we can also show risk reduction when it comes to cardiovascular health, I think we have all the reasons to believe it could become a first-line therapy,” Steensberg informed in the meeting Thursday.
Seeking a worldwide pharma companion
Zealand Pharma, which was started nearly 3 years ago with a concentrate on peptide-based medications, has actually ridden an increasing aid current months as it has actually ventured better right into weight problems therapies. So much this year, its share rate is up greater than 110%.
Competition in the field is intense, nevertheless, with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly still controling the marketplace as their supposed miracle drugs become essential to consumers across the globe.
Several drug regulators, including in the U.S. and European Union, have now expanded GLP-1 drug labels for use in treating obesity-related comorbidities and other illnesses. It comes as concerns remain around the drugs’ other possible side effects, such as muscle loss and suicidal thoughts, and U.S. authorities have pushed back against the high costs of the treatments.
Nevertheless, appetite for the treatments continues to balloon, with analysts estimating that the sector could be worth up to $200 billion by 2030.
Emily Field, head of European pharmaceuticals research at Barclays, said the weight loss market was likely to grow more “fragmented” over time as pharmaceutical companies target different segments, noting that treatments to counter muscle loss could be a good way to “differentiate.”
However, she noted that a company of Zealand Pharma’s size and scope would struggle to do so alone.
“It’s not something Zealand could even think about, manufacturing themselves. A lot of people who have owned it still own it, but are wondering if it’s going to get bought or not,” Field said over the phone.
Steensberg on Thursday ruled out growing speculation around a takeover, saying it’s “definitely not part of our plans.” But he noted that even with a significant $1 billion capital raise previously this year, the business would certainly require a companion.
“We have a clear ambition to continue into the next phase of our life as a partnering company,” Steensberg claimed. “We have to have a lot to offer and I think it’s a very attractive opportunity to partner with Zealand right now for a large pharma company.”
He included that collaboration conversations are underway and most likely to proceed right into the very first fifty percent of following year.
Petrelintide and Dapiglutide will certainly currently advance to stage 2 tests on obese and overweight clients in late 2024 and the very first fifty percent of 2025, specifically.
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