Danish biotech Zealand Pharma is targeting the "next generation" of value nonaccomplishment drugs arsenic competitors heap into a marketplace dominated by heavyweights Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
CEO Adam Steensberg told CNBC Thursday that early-stage trials of its experimental obesity injection constituent to higher-quality value nonaccomplishment — with reduced musculus nonaccomplishment and less broadside effects — versus accepted GLP-1 treatments. The institution is present scouting for a planetary pharma steadfast to spouse with, helium added.
"Our absorption is truly what's needed successful the 2030s, and it's truly astir establishing, you tin say, the next-generation molecules that are not based connected GLP-1s," Steensberg said.
Last month, Zealand Pharma announced affirmative top-line results from a signifier 1b proceedings of its weight-loss drug, a GLP-1/GLP-2 receptor dual agonist called Dapiglutide. It puts the institution head-to-head with large obesity players Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, whose GLP-1s Wegovy and Zepbound, respectively, have exploded successful popularity for their value nonaccomplishment effects.
However, Steensberg said it's the company's abstracted obesity cause candidate, Petrelintide, a long-acting amylin analog, which could acceptable it isolated from the competition, offering an alternate for users who cannot tolerate GLP-1s.
"That's what we telephone our crown jewel. This is the 1 wherever we person the highest expectations," Steensberg said.
"We person a precise beardown feeling that this could go a foundational therapy successful the aboriginal – thing that provides the value nonaccomplishment that patients are looking for but with the imaginable for a amended tolerability profile," helium added.
Zealand Pharma.
Amylin analogs are a nascent signifier of value nonaccomplishment treatment. They enactment by mimicking a hormone that is co-secreted with insulin successful the pancreas to summation satiety. This differs from GLP-1 agonists, which mimic incretin hormones produced successful the gut to suppress appetite and modulate humor sugar.
"It's 2 precise antithetic quality experiences," Steensberg said, comparing GLP-1s with amylin analogs. "If you enactment connected satiety, it volition beryllium a much pleasant experience. So erstwhile you get into it, you tin enactment semipermanent [on the] treatment."
Novo Nordisk is besides experimenting with its ain mentation of the treatment, combining the GLP-1 constituent Semaglutide with amylin analog Cagrilintide successful a campaigner called CagriSema.
In June, Zealand Pharma besides announced positive results from a signifier 1b proceedings of Petrelintide, which showed that a people of 16 play injections reduced assemblage value by up to 8.6% connected average.
The institution said astatine the clip that the findings showed "robust support" for the drug's imaginable arsenic an alternate to GLP-1s. Following the biotech firm's first-half results successful August, Steensberg upped the ante, saying amylin analogs person the imaginable to go "the aboriginal backbone therapy for value management."
"If we tin make a molecule that is giving patients the value nonaccomplishment they're looking for with a precise benign tolerability profile, and we tin besides amusement hazard simplification erstwhile it comes to cardiovascular health, I deliberation we person each the reasons to judge it could go a first-line therapy," Steensberg told CNBC successful the interrogation Thursday.
Seeking a planetary pharma partner
Zealand Pharma, which was founded astir 3 decades agone with a absorption connected peptide-based medicines, has ridden a rising tide implicit caller months arsenic it has ventured further into obesity treatments. So acold this year, its stock terms is up much than 110%.
Competition successful the assemblage is fierce, however, with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly inactive dominating the marketplace arsenic their alleged miracle drugs go indispensable to consumers crossed the globe.
Several cause regulators, including successful the U.S. and European Union, person present expanded GLP-1 cause labels for usage successful treating obesity-related comorbidities and different illnesses. It comes arsenic concerns stay astir the drugs' different imaginable broadside effects, specified arsenic musculus nonaccomplishment and suicidal thoughts, and U.S. authorities person pushed backmost against the precocious costs of the treatments.
Syringes from value nonaccomplishment drugs "Wegovy," "Ozempic" and "Mounjaro."
Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Nevertheless, appetite for the treatments continues to balloon, with analysts estimating that the assemblage could beryllium worthy up to $200 cardinal by 2030.
Emily Field, caput of European pharmaceuticals probe astatine Barclays, said the value nonaccomplishment marketplace was apt to turn much "fragmented" implicit clip arsenic pharmaceutical companies people antithetic segments, noting that treatments to antagonistic musculus nonaccomplishment could beryllium a bully mode to "differentiate."
However, she noted that a institution of Zealand Pharma's size and scope would conflict to bash truthful alone.
"It's not thing Zealand could adjacent deliberation about, manufacturing themselves. A batch of radical who person owned it inactive ain it, but are wondering if it's going to get bought oregon not," Field said implicit the phone.
Steensberg connected Thursday ruled retired increasing speculation astir a takeover, saying it's "definitely not portion of our plans." But helium noted that adjacent with a important $1 cardinal capital raise earlier this year, the institution would request a partner.
"We person a wide ambition to proceed into the adjacent signifier of our beingness arsenic a partnering company," Steensberg said. "We person to person a batch to connection and I deliberation it's a precise charismatic accidental to spouse with Zealand close present for a ample pharma company."
He added that concern discussions are underway and apt to proceed into the archetypal fractional of adjacent year.
Petrelintide and Dapiglutide volition present advancement to signifier 2 trials connected overweight and obese patients successful precocious 2024 and the archetypal fractional of 2025, respectively.
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