Novo Nordisk bet $200 million for three-targeted drugs for obesity and other metabolic diseases
Novo Nordisk expands its prospects for obesity and other metabolic disorders by ensuring rights to early clinically engineered peptides, whose effects come from activation of three receptors—the same three goals as competitor Eli Lilly’s developing next-generation body weight drugs.
Novo Nordisk will pay United Biotech $200 million on its global rights to drug UBT251, according to the terms of the deal announced on Monday. United Biotechnology retains the rights of Chinese, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan elements. The China-based Gotton company can receive milestone payments of up to $1.8 billion, and if Novo Nove Nove-Nordisk commercializes UBT251, it can get royalties from sales.
Novo Nordisk has the best-selling obesity drug in the market in Wegovy, the main component of this product is peptides designed to mimic hormones that activate GLP-1 receptors. Research and development efforts across the pharmaceutical industry are trying to extend this approach to multiple goals. Novo Nordisk's pipeline includes clinical-stage drugs that reach two targets. UBT251 provides Danish pharmaceutical giants with a weekly injection that scores three points: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. According to Novo Nordisk and United Biotechnologies, this long-acting peptide exhibits effective activity for preclinical testing on all three receptors.
Under United Biotechnology, UBT251 recently completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1B clinical trial in China. The 12-week study recruited 36 participants and was randomly assigned to three different dose groups. In the highest dose group, the companies said that the average weight reduction for those who completed the trial was 15.1% from baseline. In contrast, the average weight in the placebo group increased by 1.5% compared with baseline. The most common adverse event is the gastrointestinal tract, which is consistent with other obesity drugs, the two companies said. The severity of these events was mild to moderate.
“Increasing candidates targeting glucagon, as well as GLP-1 and GIP, will add important selectivity to our clinical pipeline, as we hope to develop a broad portfolio of differentiated therapeutic options to meet the various needs of people with these highly prevalent diseases,” Martin Holst Lange, Novo Nord Ass nove Nordist Abtrist Angreat Apperiant Saterme novo nove nove nove nove nove nove “We look forward to building scientific work in joint biotechnology and further exploring the potential first-class properties of UBT251 across the range of cardiac metabolic diseases.”
In China, UBT251 is developed for type 2 diabetes, overweight or obesity, metabolic dysfunction-related fatty liver disease and chronic kidney disease. The drug was cleared for clinical testing in type 2 diabetes, overweight or obese and chronic kidney disease in the United States.
Lilly activates GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptor candidates is an engineered peptide called ventrutide. Recognizing the warnings brought by cross-trial comparisons, the Phase 2 results of this week’s injectable drug show an average of 17.5% lower than the baseline measured after 24 weeks. After 48 weeks, the average weight loss was 24.2%.
Novo Nordisk's deal on combined biotech drugs offers another attempt to three targets of a single metabolic drug. In a note sent to investors, William Blair analysts noted that Pharma Giant stopped the development of a triple agonist for chronic weight management in 2020, a peptide targeting linkin receptors, due to the company's clinical success from pairing Wegovy and Cagrilintide. Likewise, triple agonists do not achieve the desired target profile.
William Blair analysts say Lilly’s visatrutide recovers interest in obesity drugs that meet three goals in the interim data released in 2023. However, vistrutide's results also showed more serious and frequent adverse events than approved drugs, such as Lily's own Zepbough. These side effects include high sensitivity, antibody and arrhythmic measures.
So far, the performance of Cilutisi has provided opportunities for companies developing three-effect obesity drugs to distinguish safety. That is, William Blair believes that dual-action obesity drugs provide the widest clinical utility. Triple agonists can benefit patients with high weight indexes. Vistrutide is expected to release preliminary data on obesity and type 2 diabetes in 2026.
There are other companies that develop drugs that hit GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors to trigger weight loss. Kailera Therapeutics launched $400 million and four licensed Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals drug candidates last fall, including one who reached those three goals. The $275 million Metsera pipeline was raised last month from an IPO, which includes a long-acting peptide designed to bind and activate the three targets.
Novo Nordisk discounts Wegovy price to physical pharmacies
When Novo Nordisk offered a discounted price to qualified patients who ordered through new online pharmacies earlier this month, the drugmaker said that such lower prices would be “in the near future” to those using traditional pharmacies “in the near future.” This change is happening now.
Novo Nordisk said Monday that all cash-paid patients using Wegovy will be able to get the once-weekly injectable obesity medication from physical pharmacies for $499 a month, with the same price through its new NovoCare online pharmacy, which will deliver the medication directly to the patient's home. That price is high compared to the $1,349 listing price that is available a month, a product managed with a disposable, pre-filled injection pen.
Wegovy's new lower cash price covers all doses of the drug. Like online products, uninsured patients can use discounted Wegovy to pay cash for their medications, as well as insured patients whose insurance covers no obesity medications. Novo Nordisk said the updated offer replaces the previous savings offer, which offers $650 per month for cash-paying patients. Patients participating in Medicare or Medicaid are not eligible for these offers.
Novo Nordisk launched the low-cost Wegovy after Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound direct move. Last summer, Lilly announced that qualified cash-paid patients could get Zepbound through the company’s digital health platform LillyDirect.
Discounted products for cash-paid patients provide Eli Lilly and Novo a way to prevent market share from joining higher pharmacies. When the product is short, composite pharmacies may sell versions of the drugs it sells. Complex drugs were not tested in clinical trials and were not approved by the FDA. With the FDA recently announced that it would address the shortages for Zepbound and Wegovy, compound pharmacies must stop selling versions of their drugs, although patients may continue to offer complex drugs if they require dose levels that are not available in branded products.
The compound is suing the FDA, claiming the shortage persists and the agency declares that the shortage is over and there is no due process. Both Lily and Nova believe that providing their respective drugs directly to patients can avoid the safety risks of what they call a compound drug. But the new discount prices for Wegovy and Zepbough are still higher than those for the composite version.
Photo: Peter Dazeley, Getty Images
