Obesity continues to grab attention at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, with both Pfizer and Kailera Therapeutics outlining their plans in the space moving forward.
At the 2025 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla expressed measured confidence Monday about the pharma’s plans and portfolio for obesity, anchored by its oral candidate danuglipron.
According to reporting from Reuters, Bourla said that Pfizer is going “all in” on obesity. The pharma has brought more experts onboard to help it “make better and more sound decisions,” particularly when it comes to danuglipron, which the pharma is developing as a once-daily option for chronic weight management. Pfizer has plans to open a late-stage study of the asset later this year.
Designed to be orally available, danuglipron is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that, like weight-loss early-movers semaglutide, from Novo Nordisk, and tirzepatide, from Eli Lilly, works by promoting the secretion of insulin from the pancreas, slowing gastric emptying and suppressing appetite. Danuglipron is meant to make treatment more convenient than these already-approved treatments, however, which in turn could help it carve out a niche in the increasingly competitive obesity space.
“At this point, I’m very cautious with danu,” Bourla said at JPM25, according to Reuters. Pfizer had previously advanced a twice-daily formulation of danuglipron, but in December 2023, the pharma abandoned this program in favor of a once-daily dosing schedule after Phase IIb results showed high rates of toxicities.
Analysts seem split on Pfizer’s danuglipron plans. In a July 2024 interview, Guggenheim Securities analyst Vamil Divan told BioSpace that “we’re a little more cautious that this is going to turn out to be the right decision.”
“Are they just desperate and in some way [trying to] move in the [weight loss] space?” Divan asked.
Meanwhile, in a Monday note to investors, analysts from BMO Capital Markets wrote that Pfizer appears to be “hesitant to expand on danuglipron expectations,” which have “notably been dampened” following the mid-stage readout. “Pfizer remains confident in the opportunity in obesity, but continues to manage expectations highlighting additional assets in their portfolio which could expand beyond danuglipron,” the analysts wrote.
Still, given the current market landscape, pushing through with the oral danuglipron appears to be the best choice for Pfizer, which doesn’t seem open to playing the injectable game, with Bourla on Monday saying that “probably it’s a little bit too late.”
Kailera Scores Phase II Weight-Loss Win
Meanwhile, Massachusetts- and California-based biotech Kailera Therapeutics does not seem to share this reservation about injectable weight-loss treatments. Also on Monday, the company unveiled topline Phase II data for HRS9531, a subcutaneous dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors—a mechanism of action that it shares with Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide.
At 36 weeks, patients treated with the injectable medicine saw a mean placebo-adjusted weight reduction of 21.1%, an effect that was highly statistically significant, according to Kailera. The biotech also detected no signs of plateau in weight loss, indicating potentially greater efficacy with prolonged exposure. At the time of the readout, 59% of patients lost at least 20% of their body weight.
Kailera CEO Ron Renaud in a statement called these findings “compelling,” pointing to the “significant impact HRS9531 could have for the treatment of obesity and related conditions.” The biotech is currently building its clinical and manufacturing capabilities to push HRS9531 into Phase III development, Renaud added, though he did not reveal a detailed timeline.
Renaud is scheduled to speak at JPM25 on Tuesday.
