Tag Archive for: obesity

Swiss Roche AG will advance its injectable obesity lead CT-388 into Phase III studies starting in H1/2026. With combination therapies, the Swiss pharma major aims at becoming obesity company No. 3 by 2030, Roche Pharma CEO Teresa Graham said at Roche’s Pharma Day in London.

Eli Lilly, the US market leader in the lucrative diabetes and obesity space, is now challenging its competitor Novo Nordisk in the area of oral GLP-1 receptor agonists. Lilly’s orforglipron has met the primary endpoint of its registration study and is set to be submitted for approval in the United States.

Novo Nordisk has entered a collaboration with research institute BioMed X in an effort to regain market position lost to leading competitors in diabetes and obesity treatment. The partnership is focused on improving the low bioavailability of orally administered peptide-based medicines.

Lose weight without expensive obesity pills? The discovery of a direct link between olfactory receptors and areas of the brain that signal satiety makes this seem possible, initially in mice.

Roche is extending its obesity pipeline signing a US$5.3bn biobucks deal with Zealand Pharma A/S, who will co-develop and co-commercialise a monotherapy of its long-acting amylin analogue petrelintide with the Swiss pharma giant in the US and Europe and do the same for a combo of petrelintide and Roche’s GLP1/GIP receptor agonist CTT388.

Novo Nordisk A/S’ combined GLP1-, amylin- and calcitonin receptor agonist CagriSema has failed to meet the expected 25% weight loss within 68 weeks in the second of four pivotal Phase III trials. Shares in Novo Nordisk closed down 8% after the data became public.

German API and antibody drug conjugate (ADC) CDMO Axplora Group GmbH has announced an investment of €50m in its Mourenx site in Southwest France, securing its position as a key player in the fight against cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

The Safety Committee PRAC of the European Medicines Agency EMA is investigating a new potential adverse reaction to the appetite suppressant semaglutide. Epidemiological studies indicate that the rare eye disease non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which leads to blindness, could occur more frequently after treatment with the GLP-1 receptor agonist.

Verdiva Bio, a London-based biotech, has raised an extraordinary US$410m in its oversubscribed Series A round, making it potentially the largest Series A ever raised by a U.K.-based biotech company, according to CEO Khurem Farooq.

Novo Nordiks has licenced Photys Therapeutics PHICS platform to target a single cardiometabolic target. Photys got US$186m upfront.