Obesity
EloraTZP—a combination of an amylin asset and Eli Lilly’s approved obesity drug Zepbound—made a clean sweep of the primary and secondary endpoints in a mid-stage trial of adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes, setting up the launch of a Phase 3 trial before the end of the year.
Eli Lilly’s weight loss pill Foundayo has had a “slower-than-hoped” launch, according to BMO Capital Markets, which contended that the indirect comparison data—despite falling short of definitive proof of superiority—could help the Indiana giant build momentum for its oral drug.
Roche’s anti-myostatin therapy emugrobart is unlikely to elicit meaningful weight loss, according to an interim mid-stage analysis, prompting the pharma to return the asset rights to its subsidiary Chugai Pharmaceutical.
Investors looking for more transformative business development at Novo will have to wait, but a new partnership with China’s Hengrui Pharma adds a new weekly oral option to the Danish pharma’s early pipeline.
FDA inspectors found evidence that the compounding pharmacy was making versions of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide and Novo’s semaglutide “regularly or in inordinate amounts” at a site with “insanitary conditions.”
Tech darling Enveda has raised a total of $845 million in the past six years. The latest funding round is intended to pave the way for an IPO someday.
Novo plans to hit $23B in revenue by 2035, has further reduced its workforce by 4,000 and is boosting manufacturing capacity for its Wegovy pill, but investors are unconvinced it will be enough to turn things around; Viking Therapeutics and Roche report positive results for their weight loss assets; Ultragenyx snags FDA approval for its Sanfilippo syndrome gene therapy; IPOs keep on coming.
Viking Therapeutics’ VK2735 met Truist’s “best-case scenario,” with robust weight loss that was largely maintained when patients transitioned to less frequent dosing. Viking’s stock popped more than 30% on Tuesday.
With sales of the oral GLP-1 medicine rising quickly, executives reassured investors that Novo has secured production capacity to support continued growth.
Novo has “gone shopping” to fill pipeline gaps, with a focus on obesity and diabetes, plus an expansion in blood and endocrine disorders, liver diseases and cardiovascular conditions.
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