Novo will license UTB251, a triple hormone receptor agonist that in mid-2023 achieved 24% weight reduction at 48 weeks in a mid-stage study.
In a bid to maintain its weight-loss leadership, Novo Nordisk entered into a worldwide licensing deal Monday with China-based United Laboratories International to advance a next-generation obesity drug.
With the deal, Novo “takes aim at Lilly’s retatrutide,” while also beefing up its obesity pipeline, BMO Capital Markets analysts wrote in a note to investors Monday. “We posit that today’s licensing deal may be a first step in Novo’s larger plan to pursue alternative mechanisms to compete in the high efficacy weight loss market,” the analysts added.
Under the terms of the agreement, Novo will pay $200 million upfront and pledge up to $1.8 billion in milestone payments. United Laboratories will also be entitled to tiered royalties on net global sales, excluding the China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan markets.
In exchange for its investment, Novo will gain exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize UBT251, the biotech’s investigational triple agonist of the GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors. UBT251 is currently in early-stage clinical development and is being studied for use in obesity and type 2 diabetes, among other indications.
Most commercial and clinical obesity therapies target one or two gut hormone receptors. Novo’s own blockbuster drug semaglutide, for instance, works by binding to the GLP-1 receptor, while Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide targets both GLP-1 and GIP receptors. Activating a third receptor, in principle, could lead to stronger weight-loss effects or additional cardiometabolic benefits.
Lilly is pushing ahead in the clinical assessment of its triple-G agonist retatrutide. Phase II data in June 2023 showed that a 12-mg dose of the candidate resulted in an average weight-loss of 24.2% at 48 weeks. A New England Journal of Medicine publication at the time also showed that retatrutide-treated patients saw additional cardiometabolic improvements, particularly in blood pressure, blood sugar concentrations and lipid levels.
According to its pipeline page, Lilly has since placed retatrutide into late-stage studies for obesity and obstructive sleep apnea. The pharma is also testing the candidate as a treatment for diabetes and to reduce cardiovascular and renal risk in overweight or obese patients.
With the United Laboratories partnership, Novo joins Lilly in the triple-G race—but remains far behind. According to Monday’s news release, UTB251 has just recently wrapped up Phase Ib testing in mainland China, with results pointing to a 15.1% average weight reduction in participants treated with a 6-mg injection.
Novo has yet to provide detailed development plans for UTB251, though Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for development, said in a statement that the pharma will explore the potential of the triple agonist “across cardiometabolic disease indications.”
