Weight reduction drug contender Zealand Pharma jumps 18% on trial outcomes

LONDON — Shares of Denmark’s Zealand Pharma popped on Friday, notching a report excessive after an early-stage research of its weight reduction drug challenger produced optimistic outcomes.

Features had cooled to round 18% by the shut, after surpassing greater than a 23% achieve throughout morning commerce.

The corporate mentioned Thursday {that a} course of 16 weekly excessive doses of long-acting amylin analog petrelintide lowered physique weight by as much as 8.6% on common within the research. A placebo drug led to a physique weight lower of 1.7%.

One out of 48 research contributors withdrew as a result of damaging results.

Petrelintide was “judged to be secure and properly tolerated in any respect dose ranges,” and the outcomes supplied “sturdy help” for its potential as an alternative choice to GLP-1 receptor agonist-based therapies for weight administration, Zealand Pharma mentioned in a launch.

GLP-1RA-based remedies embody Ozempic, the diabetes drug produced by fellow Danish pharmaceutical agency Novo Nordisk, which has exploded in recognition globally for its weight-loss results. Hovering demand for Ozempic and weight problems drug Wegovy have propelled Novo Nordisk to turn out to be Europe’s most beneficial firm.

The previous couple of years have seen an ever-intensifying race to supply rival remedies, drawing in dozens of challengers to market leaders Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in the US.

David Kendall, chief medical officer of Zealand Pharma, mentioned that the petrelintide research helps the corporate’s conviction that the drug “could be very properly tolerated and may doubtlessly play an essential function as an alternative choice to incretin-based therapies for the administration of obese and weight problems.”

It might “ship weight reduction corresponding to GLP-1 receptor agonists with a greater affected person expertise,” Kendall added.

The corporate now plans to check petrelintide in a section 2 mid-stage medical trial.

Analysts at Jefferies mentioned in a Thursday notice that the preliminary outcomes point out that the drug “ticks all of the bins.” They help a “doable function for amylin as a extra tolerable various to GLP-1s,” with the potential for weight reduction “a minimum of on a par.”

Zealand Pharma is individually testing the potential weight reduction drug survodutide in a partnership with Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim. Optimistic section 2 trial outcomes for that drug in February boosted Zealand’s share value on the time.