Pfizer Inc. emerged over the weekend as the winner of the bidding war for Metsera Inc., with the two reaching an amended agreement after market close Nov. 7 that values the obesity drugmaker at about $10 billion. The next day, the other contender, Novo Nordisk A/S, confirmed it does not intend to increase its most recent offer.
Eli Lilly and Co.’s amylin receptor agonist, eloralintide, showed impressive weight loss and improved tolerability in phase II results reported at ObesityWeek 2025, setting the stage for a phase III trial to start next month. The once-weekly drug demonstrated superior mean weight reductions from 9.5% to 20.1% vs. only 0.4% for placebo over 48 weeks, with all treatment arms meeting the primary endpoint, mean percent change in body weight from the average baseline of 240.5 lbs. (109.1 kg).
Hailing it as a win-win and a historic step forward in fighting chronic disease, the Trump administration announced pricing agreements Nov. 6 with Eli Lilly and Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S that will expand the availability of the companies’ weight loss drugs by cutting prices and, for the first time, providing coverage for the drugs in obesity through Medicare and Medicaid.
Nexgel Biotech Co. Ltd. and CG Bio Co. Ltd. agreed to co-develop a thermosensitive polyphosphazene hydrogel-based long-acting drug delivery platform through a new collaboration agreement signed Oct. 31.
The activin E mechanism of action in obesity is having something of an early stage heyday with such players as Wave Life Sciences Ltd. and Ibio Inc. talking up data that have perked the ears of Wall Street.
Pfizer Inc. is threatening legal action at an attempt by Novo Nordisk A/S to scupper its acquisition of Metsera Inc., with an unsolicited $9 billion offer for the anti-obesity specialist. That trumps Pfizer’s agreed bid made in September, which valued New York-based Metsera at $7.3 billion.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. announced Oct. 27 that its glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, efpeglenatide (HM-11260C), met the co-primary endpoints in a phase III study of obese adults without diabetes.
In San Francisco, the first day of Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2025 annual meeting offered presentations on the future of the convergence of devices, drugs and AI. The takeaway from the session seems to be that while the future is bright, it will become the present only when payers can find an economic argument to pay for the advances formed by this convergence.
Sustaining healthy weight loss is about so much more than cutting calories or injecting drugs, as many GLP-1 users are finding out. Withings SA continues to expand its obesity care management ecosystem and the capabilities of its connected scale to support patients through their weight loss journey and their lives after reaching goal, potentially addressing the vexing problem of patients rapidly regaining all – and often more – weight once they discontinue the drugs.
Ventyx Biosciences Inc. rolled out positive results from the phase II study with oral, once-daily VTX-3232 in patients with obesity and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors.
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