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Pfizer Thursday said it would go ahead The company has launched once-daily weight loss drug Danuglipron after seeing “encouraging” data in an ongoing early-stage trial.
The company evaluated several once-daily formulations of the drug and identified one that was “the most advantageous.” Pfizer said it plans to conduct studies in the second half of the year to determine the ideal dose of the drug.
Pfizer is one of several drugmakers vying for market share in the GLP-1 agonist class of weight loss and diabetes drugs. Some analysts estimate the industry’s value Approximately US$100 billion The end of the decade.
The company’s shares rose more than 3% in premarket trading Thursday.
Pfizer discontinued twice-daily danuglipron in December after patients in a mid-stage study struggled to tolerate the drug. At the time, the pharmaceutical giant said data from its Phase 1 trial of the once-daily version would “Inform the way forward.”
But investors have been pessimistic about the company’s potential in the GLP-1 space since it abandoned another once-daily drug in June 2023. .
Still, Pfizer has other experimental drugs in early stages of development, including One for obesity. The company has not yet revealed how the treatments will work.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said at a conference in June that Pfizer believes GLP-1 only “addresses the surface of the obesity problem.”
Pfizer’s danuglipron is a GLP-1 that promotes weight loss in the same way Novo Nordisk’Injections of Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic. These drugs mimic a hormone called GLP-1 produced in the gut that signals the brain when people are full.
Novo Nordisk’s injectables and Eli Lilly and Company Despite the price tag and limited coverage, demand surged last year.
The two companies, along with Pfizer and other drugmakers, have been racing to develop oral versions that are more convenient for patients to take and easier to manufacture, which could help ease supply shortages in the U.S.
Pfizer has not ruled out acquiring or partnering with a smaller obesity drugmaker.
Bourla told reporters at a press conference january meeting The company is unlikely to buy an obesity treatment in late-stage development, especially as it focuses on cutting costs.
But he said Pfizer was looking at potential licensing deals or early-stage weight-loss drugs.
Pfizer’s update on danuglipron comes days after the company said it was searching for a successor to chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten, who will Step down After working for this pharmaceutical company for over 15 years. Dostin played a crucial role in the development of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
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