Roche, through its subsidiary Genentech, will gain access to the investigational asset HM17321, which is designed to not only elicit weight loss but also improve lean mass.
Roche is partnering with South Korea’s Hanmi Pharm to advance a novel therapy that could improve the quality of weight loss by preserving lean mass.
Under the terms of the licensing agreement, announced Monday, Roche’s subsidiary Genentech will pay $190 million upfront and earmark certain development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, resulting in a total deal value that could hit $2.3 billion. Hanmi could also receive tiered royalties on product sales if the alliance asset makes it to the market.
The centerpiece of the new partnership is HM17321, an investigational non-incretin peptide therapy that mimics urocortin-2 to bind the CRF2 receptor—a mechanism that Hanmi believes can “reduce fat mass and increase lean mass simultaneously.”
Such an approach could set HM17321 apart in the increasingly competitive weight loss space, dominated by GLP-1 therapies that, despite eliciting strong weight loss, are nevertheless “associated with a reduction in lean body mass,” according to the Monday announcement.
Indeed, pre-clinical studies in animal models point to significant reductions in weight and fat mass after HM17321 treatment, as well as improvements in lean mass. “By providing high quality obesity management and additional metabolic benefits, HM17321 is poised to be a game-changer in the rapidly growing obesity market,” Hanmi said on its website.
The company is currently recruiting 90 healthy volunteers for a Phase 1 trial designed to assess the safety and tolerability of the asset. Hanmi will be responsible for completing this study, after which Genentech will take over and advance HM17321 through mid-stage testing and beyond.
Roche is aiming to establish itself as a “top three player” in the weight loss arena—right behind current leaders Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk—Teresa Graham, CEO of Roche’s Pharma unit, said during a January call with reporters to present the group’s full-year 2025 results.
Indeed, the company has in recent years been aggressively investing in its weight loss portfolio, including through its $2.7 billion buyout of Carmot Therapeutics in December 2023—an acquisition that gave the pharma a clutch of GLP-1 and GIP therapies. So far, this takeover has proved to be somewhat of a mixed bag for Roche. Last month, the pharma axed one Carmot molecule to prioritize other programs, while also positioning another bounty from the buyout as a potential best-in-class weight loss therapy.
Aside from Carmot, Roche has also linked up with Zealand Pharmaceuticals, gambling up to $5.3 billion in March 2025 to co-develop and co-commercialize the amylin asset petrelintide.
