New York: Pfizer announced plans to move a reworked, once-daily version of its weight-loss pill, danuglipron, into clinical trials later this year. This comes after the company discontinued its twice-daily version due to high dropout rates and side effects.
The new drug is part of a promising second generation of weight-loss pills being developed by companies such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, offering a more convenient alternative to current injectable treatments.
Analysts predict that the weight-loss drug market, currently led by Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, could surpass $150 billion in annual sales by the early 2030s.
While Pfizer has not provided a specific timeline for the drug’s development, the company plans to test multiple doses of the reformulated danuglipron in the latter half of this year before advancing it to clinical trials.
Last year, Pfizer decided to focus on the development of the new version of danuglipron after the twice-daily version was scrapped due to significant side effects like nausea and vomiting, which led to high dropout rates in its mid-stage trial. Another daily weight-loss drug, lotiglipron, was also discontinued due to safety concerns, specifically elevated liver enzymes in some patients.
JP Morgan analyst Chris Schott noted that Eli Lilly’s experimental weight-loss pill has a considerable time-to-market advantage over Pfizer’s and expressed concerns about potential side effects of the new formulation. Schott stated, “I see a limited role for the asset absent more clarity on the tolerability profile of the new formulation.”
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Shares of Pfizer rose 2.8% to $29.14 in premarket trading following the announcement. However, the company’s stock has seen a significant decline, losing more than half its value since reaching $61 in December 2021, primarily due to a sharp drop in sales of its COVID-19 products and concerns over its pipeline, including lotiglipron.
Despite these challenges, Pfizer reported that early study results supported the once-daily dosing of danuglipron, with no observed liver enzyme elevations in over 1,400 healthy adult volunteers.
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GLP-1s, the class of drugs to which danuglipron belongs, were originally developed for type 2 diabetes. They work by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone to regulate blood sugar, slow digestion, and suppress appetite.
Other companies developing next-generation weight-loss drugs include Amgen and Viking Therapeutics. With the decline in sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and pill, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla is under pressure to drive growth through newer drugs. The company also announced that chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten would step down after more than 15 years with Pfizer.
