FACTBOX-Weight-loss drug developers line up to tap lucrative market as competition heats up

April 1 (Reuters) - The weight-loss drug market is surging, with biotech firms racing to corner a share in a sector dominated by Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO and Eli Lilly LLY.N.

Analysts forecast the industry will generate about $150 billion in annual sales in the next decade.

Eli Lilly on Wednesday became the second company to secure approval for a weight-loss pill, as the multibillion-dollar market shifts toward more convenient oral therapies.

Novo Nordisk won a key first-mover advantage after U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a pill version of its blockbuster obesity injection Wegovy in December.

The following is a list of weight-loss drugs in development by Novo, Lilly and other companies chasing the next blockbuster treatment:

NOVO NORDISK

The FDA approved the oral version of Novo Nordisk's injectable weight loss drug Wegovy in December.

The company is also developing several experimental weight-loss drugs, a next-generation injection called amycretin, and CagriSema, touted as a potent successor to Wegovy.

Amycretin, which targets GLP-1 and amylin hormones, showed statistically significant weight loss of up to 14.5% at 36 weeks in patients with type 2 diabetes in a mid-stage study.

CagriSema produced weaker-than-expected data in two separate late-stage trials. The drug helped overweight patients cut their weight by 22.7% in one of the trials, below Novo's expectations of 25%.

Novo filed a marketing application for potential U.S. approval of CagriSema in December.

Novo also has struck licensing deals for drugs in earlier stages of testing, including a deal worth up to $2 billion with China-based United Laboratories for its "triple-G" weight-loss drug candidate that targets three hormones.

PFIZER

Through a buyout last year, the company PFE.N gained access to Metsera's obesity drugs, such as MET-097i, a GLP-1 therapy designed for a once-monthly injection, compared with weekly treatments from Lilly and Novo.

The drug, now known as given PF-3944, led to up to 12.3% weight loss in patients without diabetes, with no plateau observed at week 28, when given as a monthly injection, Pfizer said in February.

Pfizer added that it is targeting 2028 for its first approval in the fast-growing weight-loss drug market.

The drugmaker plans to advance more than 20 clinical trials involving obesity treatments this year.

ELI LILLY

Lilly's orforglipron, branded as Foundayo, became the second oral pill for weight-loss to gain U.S. approval.

Orforglipron helped maintain weight loss in patients switching from its GLP-1 injection, Zepbound, and rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, Lilly said in December.

Lilly's next-generation obesity drug retatrutide showed a significant reduction in blood sugar levels and weight in a late-stage trial in March.

Last year, Lilly said it is advancing its experimental once-weekly amylin-based obesity drug, eloralintide, into late-stage trials after it helped patients lose up to 20.1% of their weight in a mid-stage study.

The company also signed a deal worth up to $1.3 billion with Superluminal Medicines last year to discover and develop small-molecule drugs through AI to treat obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases.

ROCHE

Roche's ROG.S experimental obesity drug, which works in a similar way to Lilly's Zepbound, produced as much as 22.5% weight loss in a mid-stage trial in January, underpinning the Swiss drugmaker's efforts to catch up with dominant rivals.

Roche's experimental obesity drug CT-388 - a once-weekly injection - was acquired through a $2.7 billion purchase of U.S. biotech firm Carmot Therapeutics in 2023.

Its other experimental obesity drug, which it is developing with Denmark's Zealand Pharma ZELA.CO, helped patients lose up to 10.7% of their body weight in a mid-stage study in March.

AMGEN

Amgen AMGN.O is currently conducting six late-stage trials of experimental drug MariTide across obesity and related conditions such as heart disease and sleep apnea. It plans to begin late-stage of the drug for diabetes patients this year.

In January, an extension study of found that MariTide helped people maintain weight loss when given at a lower dose or less frequently.

In 2024, data showed MariTide helped overweight patients shed up to 20% of their body weight in a year-long mid-stage trial.

MERCK

In 2024, Merck MRK.N signed a licensing deal worth up to $2 billion for Chinese biotech Hansoh Pharma's 3692.HK experimental oral drug to treat obesity, becoming a late contender in the race to offer a weight-loss pill to replace weekly shots.

The drug, HS-10535, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist candidate similar to Wegovy and Zepbound.

VIKING THERAPEUTICS

The company VKTX.O in February said it plans to test its experimental oral obesity drug in a late-stage study later this year.

The company plans to advance a tablet form of its experimental weight-loss drug, VK2735, into late-stage studies in the third quarter of this year.

Last year, Viking Therapeutics VKTX.O said its oral weight-loss drug, VK2735, helped patients lose 12.2% of their body weight after 13 weeks in a mid-stage trial of 280 overweight adults, missing Wall Street's top-end expectations of 15%.

SCHOLAR ROCK

Last year, the company SRRK.O said its experimental drug, apitegromab, combined with Lilly's Zepbound, helped patients preserve significantly more lean mass in a mid-stage trial.

In Scholar Rock's study, patients who received a combination of tirzepatide - the active ingredient in Zepbound - and Scholar's apitegromab lost 3.4 pounds of lean mass after 24 weeks, compared with those on tirzepatide alone, who lost 7.6 pounds of lean mass.

ASTRAZENECA

AstraZeneca AZN.L in January said it will license experimental drugs for obesity and weight-related conditions from CSPC Pharmaceutical Group 1093.HK and collaborate on other projects, paying $1.2 billion upfront and up to $17.3 billion more if milestones are met.

The newly licensed drug candidates from CSPC include SYH2082, which is designed for once-monthly dosing, which can help patients stick to weight-loss therapy for longer.

The British-Swedish drugmaker has also licensed an experimental weight-loss pill from China's EccoGene.

STRUCTURE THERAPEUTICS

The company GPCR.O said its once-daily pill, aleniglipron helped patients lose up to 16.3% or 39 lbs on the 180 mg dose after 44 weeks, compared with a placebo, in a mid-stage trial.

In another study, patients receiving a lower dose experienced 16.2% weight loss at 56 weeks.

The company said the results support advancement to late-stage development, expected to initiate in the second half of 2026, following an FDA meeting in the second quarter.