Eli Lilly and Co.'s tirzepatide, a high-profile entrant in the global anti-obesity race, hit a key milestone, becoming the first investigational medicine to deliver more than 20% weight loss on average for non-diabetics in a phase III study, said Jeff Emmick, vice president of product development at the company.
A Korean study led by Seoul National University scientists is the first to demonstrate that the human intestinal mucin-degrading bacterium, Akkermansia muciniphila, secretes a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-inducing protein, which significantly improved glucose homeostasis and ameliorated metabolic disease in mice.
Altimmune Inc. will acquire Spitfire Pharma Inc. and its lead candidate, SP-1373 (to be renamed ALT-801), a GLP-1/glucagon receptor co-agonist for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Korea's largest pharmaceutical company, Yuhan Corp., and German giant Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (BI) have signed a collaboration and license agreement to develop a first-in-class dual agonist to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and related liver diseases, following a similar path trod by other companies.