Drug companies are vying for a piece of the lucrative obesity treatment industry, and Roche, a Swiss business, is among the newest entrants after agreeing to pay $2.7 billion to acquire Carmot Therapeutics.

By the end of the decade, the market for obesity treatments is expected to be valued at $100 billion, with companies like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly already making significant waves in the market with their highly sought-after products. A list of businesses vying for the next big blockbuster opportunity is as follows:

NOVO NORDISK

In November, Novo Nordisk released more information from a late-stage research demonstrating that Wegovy, the company’s well-known obesity medication, had heart-protective advantages that go beyond weight loss.

The results of the study demonstrated that the difference in cardiac risk between patients receiving Wegovy, also known as semaglutide chemically, and those receiving a placebo started to show virtually soon after the patients started treatment.

Novo has applied to the health authorities in the United States and the European Union to use Wegovy more widely in an effort to lower the risk of cardiovascular events.

The company has introduced its weekly injection Wegovy—also referred to as Ozempic when used for diabetes—in six countries thus far, including the US.

ELI LILLY

Regulators in the US and the UK have approved Eli Lilly’s weight-loss treatment Zepbound, opening the door for a potent new competitor to Novo’s Wegovy.

Since 2022, Lilly’s medication, sometimes referred to as tirzepatide chemically, has been marketed as Mounjaro to treat type 2 diabetes.

Lilly said that after 48 weeks, a mid-stage trial of its once-weekly injectable retatrutide, a next-generation obesity treatment option, resulted in weight loss of up to 24.2%.

PFIZER

Pfizer announced that it was discontinuing additional trials for its oral weight-loss medication, danuglipron, which is taken twice daily.

The choice was made in response to a mid-stage trial when a large percentage of participants discontinued due to adverse effects like nausea and vomiting.

Instead, the business stated that it will concentrate on a once-daily, modified release form of danuglipron. Next year, information on this version’s interactions with the human body is anticipated.

Pfizer had previously abandoned the once-daily pill’s research in June because of worries about liver safety.

ROCHE AND CARMOT THERAPEUTICS

As part of its $2.7 billion takeover of Carmot Therapeutics, Roche purchased CT-388. Carmot’s weekly injection falls into the same category as Zepbound, or Mounjaro from Eli Lilly.

According to Roche, the recently acquired medication candidate has finished early-stage trials and is prepared for human testing in the second of three trial rounds.

ASTRAZENECA

For up to $2 billion, AstraZeneca licenced an experimental weight-loss pill from Eccogene in China, believing it will have fewer adverse effects than the injectable treatments available today.

The clinical trial for Eccogene’s therapeutic candidate, ECC5004, is currently in its first of three phases.

AMGEN

Amgen stated in October that it plans to release data by late October from a mid-stage trial of an alternative injectable obesity option called AMG133, as well as results from an early-stage trial of the experimental obesity pill AMG786.

In a short trial, AMG133 demonstrated a mean weight loss of 14.5% following 12 weeks of treatment at the maximum monthly dose.

ALTIMMUNE

In a mid-stage experiment, Altimmune reported that its medication candidate, pemvidutide, helped patients lose weight by an average of 15.6% and demonstrated sustained weight loss at the conclusion of treatment.

Nonetheless, mild to moderately severe nausea and vomiting were also reported by the individuals.

VIKING THERAPEUTICS

In an early-stage research, the medication VK2735 from Viking Therapeutics reduced mean weight by as much as 6%.

In October, the business announced that it would provide data in the first half of 2024 from a mid-stage research that tested the medicine at larger doses over a longer treatment period.

INGELHEIM BOEHRINGER AND ZEALAND PHARMA

In August, Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim said that it would carry out three phase III trials to evaluate the experimental medication for obesity, survodutide, which it co-developed with Danish biotech company Zealand Pharma.

In a mid-stage experiment, the medication candidate demonstrated a reduction in body weight of about 19% in subjects who had reached the targeted dosage level.

OPKO HEALTH

The mid-stage trial for Opko Health’s obesity medication candidate is now complete, and the company anticipates fewer side effects than with current therapies.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)