Obesity
Analysts at William Blair say dapiglutide’s 11.6% weight reduction at 28 weeks could still be better, given that Zealand’s study predominantly included men and enrolled patients with lower BMI at baseline.
In combination with Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, marketed as Zepbound for obesity, Scholar Rock’s monolonal antibody helped patients lose the same amount of weight as patients on tirzepatide alone while preserving more muscle mass.
Another patient has died from acute liver failure after receiving Sarepta’s gene therapy for DMD ; After a quiet start to the year, M&A is back with one deal for a gene editing biotech reinvigorating that sector; and RFK Jr. installs a suite of new vaccine board members who share his skeptical views on vaccines.
At 12 weeks, weight loss ranged from 2.6% to 11.3%, compared to a gain of 0.2% in the placebo group. Guggenheim analysts were also impressed by the tolerability profile.
For $812 million, Novo Nordisk will enlist Deep Apple to discover and develop a non-incretin therapy for obesity, months after the Danish pharma’s amylin efforts underwhelmed investors.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made waves this week, firing the remaining members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; Metsera’s amylin drug produced weight loss of 8.4% at 36 days; and FDA leaders gathered last week to discuss the future of cell and gene therapy, a sector that has been in turmoil since the ousting of CBER Chief Peter Marks.
In what Guggenheim Partners called one of Metsera’s “critical program milestones” this year, its ultra-long-acting amylin injection MET-233i showed promising weight-loss after a little more than a month of treatment.
Eli Lilly joins up with Camurus to make long-acting versions of the pharma’s obesity and diabetes drugs, joining the industry’s growing pipeline of programs that are differentiated by the frequency of dosing.
Sanofi and BMS paid big money for rare disease and cancer assets, while Regeneron got in the obesity game; AstraZeneca, Gilead and Amgen shone at ASCO; RFK Jr. and the CDC appeared to disagree over COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and several news outlets are questioning the validity of the White House’s Make America Healthy Again report.
Regeneron’s shares have declined nearly 17% following the failure of the company’s Dupixent follow-up itepekimab.
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