FACTBOX-Weight-loss drug developers line up to tap market worth $150 billion

Updates with latest trial details on Novo, Lilly, Amgen, Viking, and Zealand Pharma; adds Merck and AstraZeneca

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk's NOVOb.CO Wegovy and Eli Lilly's LLY.N Zepbound are so far the leaders in the weight-loss drug market, which is estimated to be worth about $150 billion by the early 2030s.

There are also several other drug developers aiming to join the bandwagon. The following is a list of publicly listed companies targeting the next big blockbuster opportunity:

NOVO NORDISK

Novo's closely-watched obesity drug candidate CagriSema helped overweight patients cut their weight by 22.7% in a late-stage trial, but that was below its own expectations of up to 25% reduction.

The data compares to weight loss of about 15% after 68 weeks in a trial for Wegovy.

CagriSema is a weekly injection, which combines semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and mimics the gut hormone GLP-1, and a separate molecule called cagrilintide that mimics the pancreatic hormone amylin.

The two hormones combined suppress hunger and help control patients' blood glucose.

Novo is also developing a weight-loss pill, amycretin, which helped obese participants lose 13.1% of their weight after 12 weeks of treatment in an early-stage study.

The company said in September it plans to decide on further studies for amycretin after data from an early study on a subcutaneous version of the drug, which is expected next year.

It is set to buy three of contract drug manufacturer Catalent's fill-finish sites in Italy, Belgium and the U.S. to help boost Wegovy's production.

Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk, completed its acquisition of Catalent on Dec. 18.

ELI LILLY

Eli Lilly's weight-loss therapy, Zepbound, got the green light from the U.S. and UK regulators last year, paving the way for a powerful new rival to Novo's Wegovy.

Earlier in December, Lilly said patients taking Zepbound lost 47% more weight than those who were given Wegovy in the first large, head-to-head trial of the highly in-demand rival medicines.

In the 751-person trial sponsored by Lilly, Zepbound helped patients lose an average of 20.2% of their weight after 72 weeks compared to 13.7% for the group treated with Wegovy.

In 2023, Lilly had said a mid-stage trial of its next-generation obesity drug candidate, a once-weekly injection of retatrutide, led to weight loss of up to 24.2% after 48 weeks.

Lilly is currently testing retatrutide in late-stage trials.

It is testing another experimental obesity pill, orforglipron, in a late-stage trial and expects to disclose data from the study in April 2025.

The highest dose of orforglipron led to 14.7% weight loss after 36 weeks in obese patients, data from a mid-stage trial had showed.

PFIZER

In July, Pfizer PFE.N said it planned to enter clinical trials later this year for a reworked, once-a-day version of its weight-loss pill, danuglipron.

The drugmaker said last year it was stopping further trials of a twice-daily version of danuglipron.

ROCHE AND CARMOT THERAPEUTICS

Roche ROG.S acquired CT-388 as part of its $2.7 billion buyout of Carmot Therapeutics. Carmot's once-a-week injection belongs to the same class as Eli Lilly's LLY.N Mounjaro, or Zepbound.

In July, the company announced that a second drug candidate from its purchase of Carmot yielded positive results in an early-stage trial.

Roche said its experimental pill, which could appeal to patients averse to injections, was well tolerated with mostly mild or moderate gastrointestinal side effects similar to those seen in other weight-loss drugs.

AMGEN

In November, Amgen's AMGN.O closely-watched experimental obesity drug MariTide helped overweight patients shed up to 20%of their body weight in an year-long mid-stage trial.

Analysts said MariTide's weight-loss benefit was in line with Wegovy and Zepbound, but had slightly more side effects.

MERCK

In December, Merck MRK.N signed a licensing deal worth up to $2 billion for Chinese biotech Hansoh Pharma's 3692.HK experimental oral drug to treat obesity, becoming a late contender in the race to offer a weight-loss pill to replace weekly shots.

The drug, HS-10535, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist candidate similar to Wegovy and Zepbound.

ASTRAZENECA

AstraZeneca's AZN.L experimental weight-loss pill, licensed a year ago from China's Eccogene for up to $2 billion, was found to be safe and tolerable in an early-stage trial in November.

The drugmaker said it has progressed the once-daily pill, called AZD5004, into mid-stage trials.

ALTIMMUNE

Altimmune ALT.O said last year its drug candidate, pemvidutide, helped reduce weight by 15.6% on average and showed continued weight loss at the end of treatment in a mid-stage trial.

Patients, however, also experienced nausea and vomiting of mild and moderate severity.

VIKING THERAPEUTICS

Viking Therapeutics VKTX.O said in February its experimental drug, VK2735, helped patients achieve up to 14.7% mean weight loss after 13 weeks of treatment in a mid-stage study, which had enrolled 176 overweight adults with at least one weight-related comorbidity.

In November, the company said the drug helped nine patients, who received the highest 100 milligram dose, lose an average of 8.2% of their body weight after 28 days in an early-stage trial.

ZEALAND PHARMA

Danish biotech Zealand Pharma ZELA.CO said in June a high dose of its weight-loss drug candidate petrelintide helped reduce weight by an average 8.6% after 16 weekly doses in an early-stage study.

The company said in August it is set to start talks with other pharmaceutical companies in the second half of this year for potential partnerships to develop and commercialize petrelintide.

Zealand is currently testing petrelintide in overweight or obese individuals without type 2 diabetes in a mid-stage study.

STRUCTURE THERAPEUTICS

Structure Therapeutics GPCR.O said in June its experimental oral obesity drug helped reduce weight by 6.2% on average at the end of 12 weeks in a mid-stage study.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny, Pratik Jain, Sriparna Roy, Leroy Leo, Sneha S K and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Pooja Desai, Maju Samuel, Tasim Zahid and Shilpi Majumdar)

((Mariam.ESunny@thomsonreuters.com))