Menarini pays up to €726M for Chinese obesity drug
Italian pharma Menarini Group has licensed European rights to bofanglutide for obesity and excess weight, a long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist from China’s Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals dosed once every two weeks, for €62 million upfront, up to €664 million in milestones, and "double-digit" royalties. Menarini will handle regulatory submissions and commercialization across 39 European markets.
Why it matters: Bofanglutide’s clearest current differentiator is dosing frequency, not a proven efficacy advantage. In a U.S. Phase 2 trial, the 48 mg dose produced 15.18% mean weight loss at 36 weeks, compared with 16.93% for an open-label tirzepatide arm. Gan & Lee said weight loss with bofanglutide had not reached a plateau, so longer follow-up could show a larger gap, but that remains unproven.
Yes, but: No European registration package comes with the licence yet. GRADUAL-1, the pivotal Phase 3 weight-loss trial, ran in China: 640 adults receiving bofanglutide every two weeks lost an average of 15.12% at 24 mg and 18.54% at 48 mg after 52 weeks, compared with 1.11% on placebo.
What they’re saying: “Looking ahead, Gan & Lee is actively advancing the global development plan for bofanglutide and intends to initiate a global Phase 3 clinical development program to support registration in Europe and other highly regulated markets,” Menarini’s September 3, 2026 press release says. In essence, Menarini has licensed a late-stage development program, not a launch-ready drug.
Zoom in: Gan & Lee retains the U.S. and other territories, and its Shanghai filing describes Menarini’s European rights specifically as covering bofanglutide injection for obesity and excess weight, with Gan & Lee retaining other indications in the territory. The company is already studying injectable bofanglutide in Phase 3 programs for type 2 diabetes and obesity with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.
By the numbers: Europe is the fourth territory Gan & Lee has licensed out, after Latin America to Carnot Laboratorios in November 2025, India to Lupin on Dec. 29 and South Korea to JW Pharmaceutical in April. JW paid $5 million (€4.3 million) upfront against up to $76.1 million (€65.8 million) in milestones, for one country and four indications; Menarini’s €62 million upfront buys 39 countries and one indication. Gan & Lee’s Shanghai filing calls the European deal bofanglutide’s largest by potential value.
Big picture: Menarini is building a cardiometabolic franchise from licensed drugs. In July, CHMP recommended NewAmsterdam’s cholesterol pill obicetrapib for approval with Menarini as applicant and European seller; the Commission’s decision is pending. Bofanglutide would take Menarini into obesity, where Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly already sell Wegovy and Mounjaro.
- Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have already moved past the injection formulation. The Commission approved the Wegovy pill on July 15; it has been on sale in the UK, part of Menarini’s territory, since July, and Novo launched it in Germany on Sept. 1. Lilly’s Foundayo pill launched in the UK in late August. Gan & Lee is testing a once-monthly bofanglutide injection in Phase 3 in China and has an oral tablet in early clinical trials. The disclosed licence covers the injection; neither company has said whether it extends to the pill.
Bottom line: Menarini has secured a relatively advanced ticket into obesity but whether dosing every two weeks is enough to differentiate bofanglutide will depend heavily on how its efficacy stacks up against the next generation of obesity drugs.
