Weight loss
The American Diabetes Association’s annual congress will feature a superstar lineup, including weight loss giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. But several scrappy biotechs will also present obesity candidates with the potential to match—if not outperform—their deep-pocketed competitors.
After trial flops in spinal muscular atrophy, depression and bipolar disorder—and a costly rare disease drug rejection—Biohaven is undergoing a reset, recasting its former SMA candidate for obesity.
Kailera Therapeutics is advancing a pipeline of weight loss medicines that mirrors Eli Lilly’s: an injectable GLP-1/GIP dual agonist like Zepbound, an oral GLP-1 like Foundayo and a triple-G therapy like retatrutide.
Eli Lilly continues to spend its GLP-1 landfall with four new deals in the past week, including three in the vaccine space; the obesity leader also touted surgery-like results for its next-gen weight loss drug; Moderna’s stock climbs on the hantavirus “fear trade”; and in oncology, all eyes are on Revolution at ASCO this week.
Lilly met analysts’ sky-high expectations with 28.3% weight loss over 80 weeks for the triple hormone receptor agonist retatrutide in a highly anticipated readout on Thursday.
Aardvark Therapeutics had previously voluntarily suspended studies of ARD-101—and a related asset called ARD-201—after detecting anomalous echocardiographic readings in healthy volunteers that could indicate reduced heart efficiency.
Despite seeing some regain, patients in two trials maintained most of their weight loss after switching to either Foundayo or lower-dose Zepbound from other injectable incretin therapies.
With Siran Biotechnology under its fold, GSK will have access to a long-acting siRNA therapy that could induce weight loss while preserving lean mass, in addition to addressing other weight-related comorbidities.
Analysts and investors alike had been eagerly awaiting sales figures for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill. The answer blew past expectations by 86%.
The selloff in Eli Lilly’s shares was “overdone,” according to RBC Capital Markets, which noted that the overall safety profile of Foundayo remains favorable.
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