Obesity
It’s been a rocky few months for BioAge Labs, which shuttered a Phase II trial of its lead candidate azelaprag Tuesday after the molecule caused liver-based side effects.
Versant Ventures continues to invest in the increasingly competitive obesity space, this time launching Helicore with $65 million and a GIP-targeting asset intended to induce higher-quality weight loss.
The GLP-1 IPO arena has been heating up for the past two years and Metsera’s ask is one the largest in recent history.
Patients taking Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy plus Veru’s enobosarm saw 71% lower lean mass loss than those who were taking Wegovy alone but investors await more data.
The readout comes on the heels of CagriSema’s disappointing Phase III performance, where it missed Novo’s projection of 25% weight reduction.
The San Diego–based company’s molecules avoid the well-trod GLP-1 pathway in favor of an alternate route in the gut.
Biopharma executives shared their thoughts on the potential impacts of the new administration; Annalee Armstrong recaps JPM and her talks with Biogen, Gilead, Novavax and more; Wegovy’s higher dose induces more weight loss; AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Dato-DXd scores its first FDA approval.
Computational research conducted by scientists from Washington University in St. Louis shows that GLP-1 agonists can have mental and cognitive health benefits but may also harm the kidneys and pancreas.
As the year gets underway, analysts and biotech executives highlight cell therapy’s pivot from oncology to autoimmune diseases, a continued appetite for next-generation obesity drugs and an increased focus on neuromuscular, kidney and cardiovascular diseases.
The data suggest the high dose nearly closes the efficacy gap with Zepbound.
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