Alimentary/Metabolic
Over 140 biopharma leaders share their views on developments to watch for in key therapeutic areas this year. Advances in multiple scientific fields are opening up new avenues for treatment.
ASC30's Phase I study has produced the best-yet weight loss achieved by an oral drug at 28 days, and it could be a serious rival for Lilly’s frontrunner orforglipron.
Amylin analogs could well match the weight loss seen with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s GLP-1-based blockbusters with less fewer tolerability issues. The Danish company believes petrelintide will lead the pack and is vetting potential big pharma partners very carefully.
Two pharmaceutical companies reporting bumper sales in the hot areas of diabetes and obesity may have helped a thaw in sector sentiment.
Having built its portfolio from university collaborations and targeted in-licensing, the UK firm now hopes to validate its business model with Phase II readouts in 2025.
Patient demand for compounded versions of FDA-approved obesity drugs is unlikely to dissipate, even if semaglutide’s “shortage” status is resolved. The issue likely will continue to be a high-profile concern for the brand industry.
Large headcount reduction and ending preclinical programs may give Inventiva runway to report Phase III data for lanifibranor that are expected during the second half of 2026.
Scrip surveys some of the more interesting Phase III clinical trial readouts expected this year.
Innogen is hoping the approval of its once-weekly GLP-1 drug Diabegone will allow it to chip away at Ozempic’s dominance in the Chinese diabetes market.
Investors sold off shares after Novo’s disappointing Cagrisema readout in December, but the company believes more trial results will show it can be the future of obesity treatment.
CEO Paul Hudson has declared that “immunology is effectively our obesity” and the French firm is looking to use its position of strength in the space and its healthy cash pile to bring in early-stage assets.
As Torrent joins Indian majors with plans to launch semaglutide in India and Brazil post patent expiry, market access topics like price and demand come up for discussion. Meanwhile, the supply chain is seen overcoming shortages
Backed by Versant Ventures, Helicore will pursue optimized therapy for underserved obesity patients with an antibody that directly antagonizes GIP and plans for antibody conjugate therapies.
The biotech announced results of the Phase IIb QUALITY trial of enobosarm in older patients taking Wegovy, showing reduced loss of lean mass.
The FGF21 analog is the first metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis drug to demonstrate benefit in cirrhotic patients. Several FGF21 agents are being tested in MASH.
Semaglutide 7.2mg bests placebo for weight loss at 72 weeks, but with efficacy lower than seen with Novo Nordisk’s CagriSema or Lilly’s Zepbound.
The company is moving quickly to bring its antibody oligonucleotide conjugates to patients in three separate muscular dystrophy diseases, causing unease for its rivals.
The company believes its WVE-007 can improve on GLP-1 agonists by preserving muscle mass while also not interfering with the pleasure of eating. Promising mouse data are still to be confirmed in humans, however.
The companies announced Phase II data showing a 22.8% mean weight reduction, but with no plateau, suggesting potentially further weight loss as time goes on.
The Phase IIa data for the next-generation GLP-1 agonist showed a decent efficacy profile with weekly dosing, but the company said it also supports giving the drug monthly.