Pfizer Advances New Weight Loss Pill to Clinical Trials Amidst Market Expansion

Pfizer has announced plans to move a reworked, once-a-day version of its weight loss pill, danuglipron, into clinical trials later this year. This follows the scrapping of a twice-daily version due to high side effects. The weight-loss drug market is expected to exceed $150 billion annually by the early 2030s.

Pfizer plans to advance a reworked, once-a-day version of its weight loss pill, danuglipron, into clinical trials later this year. The announcement comes after the company discontinued a twice-daily version of the drug late last year due to high side effects.

This new drug is part of the second-generation weight-loss pills being developed by firms like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which aim to provide a more convenient alternative to injections. Analysts predict that the market for weight-loss drugs, currently led by Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, could exceed $150 billion in annual sales by the early 2030s.

Pfizer revealed last year that it would focus on the reformulated version of danuglipron after abandoning the twice-daily form due to high drop-out rates in its midstage trials, linked to side effects like nausea and vomiting. The company had already discontinued another weight loss drug, lotiglipron, because it elevated liver enzymes in some patients.

Pfizer's shares increased by 3.7% to $29.30 in premarket trading. The shares closed at $28.35 on Wednesday but have lost over half their value since reaching $61 in December 2021, mainly due to plunging COVID product sales and investor concerns over its drug pipeline, including lotiglipron.

The company reported that early study results support once-daily dosing of danuglipron, with no liver enzyme elevations observed in over 1,400 healthy adult volunteers. GLP-1s, originally developed for type 2 diabetes, mimic the GLP-1 hormone to regulate blood sugar, slow digestion, and suppress appetite.

Besides Pfizer, companies like Amgen and Viking Therapeutics are also working on next-generation weight loss drugs. Shrinking sales of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and pill have exerted pressure on CEO Albert Bourla to stimulate growth through new medications.

Furthermore, Pfizer recently announced that their chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten, would step down after more than 15 years with the company.

(With inputs from agencies.)