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Zealand Pharma connected Thursday outlined an ambitious five-year strategy for its anti-obesity portfolio Thursday, spotlighting how growing contention from smaller players is tightening the contention for marketplace leaders Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly arsenic much of these medicines adjacent marketplace entry.
The caller strategy, "Metabolic Frontier 2030," comes arsenic Zealand shares person dropped 29% twelvemonth to day arsenic investors are betting the marketplace volition fragment, with less singular winners than they were 18 months agone astatine the highest of the value nonaccomplishment cause frenzy.
Ahead of its Capital Markets Day connected Thursday, the Danish drugmaker said it present targets 5 cause launches, astatine slightest 10 objective pipeline programs and industry-leading rhythm times by 2030.
The strategy volition harvester strategical partnerships, accelerated cause development, and expanded probe capabilities to physique the world's astir invaluable metabolic wellness pipeline, Zealand Pharma said successful a statement.
One of Zealand's astir promising drugs nether improvement is petrelintide which targets the pancreatic amylin hormone — antithetic from the GLP-1 gut hormone targeted by Novo's Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound. The drug, developed in partnership with Roche, has shown much mean broadside effects than current injectables successful early-stage objective trials.
Mid-stage information connected petrelintide are owed aboriginal adjacent year, portion information connected its dual GLP-1 agonist called survodutide volition work retired passim 2026.
Fewer standout winners
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly presently predominate the marketplace for value nonaccomplishment drugs and person a head-start connected their competition, having developed the lone Food and Drug Administration approved anti-obesity drugs to date. But arsenic the the marketplace takes shape, much players are wanting successful connected the lucrative concern which analysts foretell could beryllium worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $150 cardinal annually by the commencement of adjacent decade.
While Novo Nordisk shares are having their worst twelvemonth ever successful 2025, down 50% twelvemonth to date, Eli Lilly has go an investor-favorite arsenic the Indiana-based company's Zepbound and Mounjaro has shown much pronounced value nonaccomplishment than Novo's Ozempic and Wegovy. Lilly has besides taken the pb connected U.S. caller prescriptions.
On Thursday, Lilly released the archetypal late-stage data connected its adjacent procreation value nonaccomplishment cause retatrutide. It works otherwise from existing injections and appears to beryllium much effectual arsenic it targets 3 antithetic appetite-regulating hormones, arsenic opposed to 1 oregon 2 similar Wegovy and Zepbound.
Lilly's banal has held up amended arsenic capitalist spot its pipeline arsenic much apt to construe to fiscal returns, and the institution besides has a divers porfolio that goes beyond diabetes and value nonaccomplishment treatments.
Meanwhile, Zealand shares, similar Novo's peaked successful mid-2024 but gains moderated arsenic bets are besides placed elsewhere. Only past month, it paused improvement of an GLP-1/GLP-2 dual agonist called dapiglutide, citing a crowded marketplace for obesity drugs. Instead, Zealand indicated that it would absorption resources to candidates with a greater imaginable for objective differentiation.
Big Pharma names similar AstraZeneca, Amgen and Pfizer are each hoping that their ain cause candidates volition instrumentality a portion retired of Lilly and Novo's marketplace share, arsenic are clinical-stage players similar Structure Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics.
The marketplace credits Lilly but undervalues innovation elsewhere, according to Morningstar's Karen Andersen. "While we spot Lilly holding much than 50% planetary stock for the foreseeable future, we deliberation its stock volition stabilize arsenic Novo and different competitors motorboat next-generation drugs," she wrote successful a November note. "Consensus fails to admit these drugs' potential."
Zealand Pharma shares person fallen by astir a 3rd successful 2025
Separately, Zealand announced an statement with Chinese biotech steadfast OTR Therapeutics to make oral tiny molecule treatments for metabolic diseases. Under the deal, OTR volition person $20 cardinal up front, with an further $10 cardinal if definite conditions are met, arsenic good arsenic up to $2.5 cardinal related to development, regulatory and commercialized milestones.
UBS analysts called the concern "an absorbing move."
"Ahead of a catalyst affluent 2026 with P3 survodutide proceedings and P2 petrelintide readout due, we volition look for expectations for these readouts, commercialisation strategy and immoderate colour connected imaginable pricing for survodutide, and however Zealand sees arsenic imaginable differentiation for OTR's tiny molecule drugs versus different oral GLP-1s that are already adjacent to market," the analysts said.
Zealand besides said it volition unfastened a caller probe tract successful Boston that combines its peptide cause expertise with AI‑driven cause discovery.
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