Pfizer doesn't give up on weight loss pill - New trial with Danuglipron
The global market for weight loss products is billion-dollar heavy. US-conglomerate Pfizer is making a new attempt with its product. A previous try was abandoned due to high side effects. The revised pill is to be clinically tested again.
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is reviving its plans for a weight loss pill. The company announced that a revised, once-daily version of the weight loss pill Danuglipron will enter clinical trials this year. In a Phase-2 study, Pfizer suffered a setback with a twice-daily version of the tablet: Due to a high rate of side effects such as nausea and vomiting, as well as a high dropout rate among participants, the clinical development was not continued.
"Obesity is an important therapeutic area for Pfizer," explained Research Chief Mikael Dolsten. The company has a solid pipeline with three clinical and several preclinical candidates in this field. Danuglipron is the most advanced of these. Despite the side effects, it showed good efficacy in the twice-daily administration. Pfizer expects the once-daily pill to have the potential to compete with GLP-1 agonists.
To these medications belong the weight loss injection Wegovy from Novo Nordisk and the drug Semaglutide from Eli Lilly. Both medications must be injected once a week. GLP-1 agonists lower blood sugar levels and reduce appetite. The development of another GLP-1 weight loss medication named Lotiglipron was abandoned by Pfizer a year ago due to safety concerns, as some patients suffered from elevated liver enzymes.
Eli Lilly also works on a GLP-1 tablet: Its pill Orlistat is already in the decisive third phase of clinical development. Pfizer stocks rose by almost two percent after the Danuglipron news. However, analyst Chris Schott from JP Morgan expressed skepticism. He is still concerned about the side effects of the medication. In addition, Eli Lilly's weight loss pill has a significant time advantage. As long as the tolerability profile of the new formulation is not clearer, he sees only a limited role for Pfizer's medication.
Pfizer's revised weight loss pill, Danuglipron, facing clinical trials once again, signifies the pharmaceutical giant's continued interest in the economy-impacting obesity sector, particularly within the pharmaceutical industry. Given the previous twice-daily version's high side effects and dropout rate, Pfizer aims to position the once-daily version to compete with GLP-1 agonists like Wegovy from Novo Nordisk and Semaglutide from Eli Lilly.
