Roche inks US$1.65bn obesity deal with Zealand Pharma

Danish Zealand Pharma A/S and F. Hoffmann-LaRoche Ltd have entered into a  license agreement to co-develop and co-commercialise Zealand’s Phase II long-acting amylin mimetic petrelintide in weight management of overweigt and obese people. Besides petrelintide monotherapy, Zealand will also help co-develop and co-commercialise  drug combos such as  petrelintide/CT-388, which Roche got in 2023 from the acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics, in the US and Europe.

Amylin receptor activation has been shown to reduce body weight by restoring sensitivity to the satiety hormone leptin  inducing a sense of feeling full faster. In a Phase 1b multiple ascending dose trial, petrelintide demonstrated body weight reductions of up to a mean of 8.6% after 16 weeks, versus 1.7% for the pooled placebo group.

Zealand Pharma will receive an upfront cash payment of US$1.65bn, including US$1.4 bn due at closing and USD 250 million in anniversary payments over two years, as well as potential milestone payments, for a total consideration of up to US$5.3bn. According to the contract, profits and losses will be shared on a 50/50 basis for petrelintide and petrelintide/CT-388, and Zealand Pharma is eligible to royalties on net sales in the rest of the world. In exchange, Zealand Pharma will pay Roche US$350m for the contribution of Carmot’s GLP1/GIP receptor agonist CT-388 in the first combination product arising from the collaboration. Under the terms of the agreement, Zealand Pharma can participate in up to 50% of commercialization activities in the U.S. and Europe, with opt-out and opt-in rights under certain pre-agreed conditions. Under the agreement, Roche obtains exclusive rights to commercialization in the rest of the world and will be responsible for commercial manufacturing and supply. As part of this agreement, Zealand Pharma is  eligible for development milestones of US$1.2bn, primarily linked to initiation of Phase III trials with petrelintide monotherapy, and sales-based milestones of US$2.4bn, for a total consideration to Zealand Pharma of up to US$ 5.3bnn. Zealand Pharma is eligible to receive tiered double-digit royalties up to high teens % on net sales in the rest of the world.

According to Roche, Zealand Pharma’s amylin analog has best-in-class potential like CT-388 does, which led to a 18.8% reduction in body weight after 24 weeks in a Phase IIb study, outperforming Lilly’s marketed GLP1/GIP receptor agonist combo and next generation combos of Novo Nordisk.

The closing is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025.

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