The development of weight-loss drugs is currently one of the hottest topics in the pharmaceutical industry. Some analyst firms even predict that the market for weight-loss drugs will grow to a size of USD 200 billion in the future, rivaling the current market for oncology products. Therefore, many biopharmaceutical and technology companies are eager to enter this market with enormous development potential. In Q3 of this year, Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy achieved sales performance of USD 2.5 billion, and it is projected to reach global sales volume of USD 13 billion next year, catapulting it into the top ten list of blockbuster drugs in one fell swoop. Despite the dominance of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound in the current weight-loss drug market, there are still a number of weight-loss drug developers who are pushing ahead with their projects, believing that "it's not too late for wildflowers to bloom". Meanwhile, in a parallel battlefield, the competition for acquiring weight-loss drug projects and companies is undergoing intense overt and covert struggles.
The latest hot acquisition target is Viking Therapeutics, founded 12 years ago and headquartered in San Diego, California.
Viking Therapeutics' oral peptide weight-loss drug VK2735 has demonstrated high efficacy and safety in Phase I clinical trials, attracting widespread attention in the industry. VK2735 is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist. In its Phase I study, subjects experienced significant weight loss, and VK2735 showed good safety and tolerability. In the highest dose group of 100 mg, VK2735 achieved a placebo-adjusted weight loss rate of 6.8% over 28 days, a figure that has impressed the industry. While many analysts are optimistic about the future of VK2735, they also believe that Viking Therapeutics will be the next hot acquisition target for pharmaceutical giants.
Viking does not have stable capital injection, and achieving the goal of bringing VK2735 to market alone is somewhat challenging, especially considering that the research on the oral version is still in Phase I and the subcutaneous injection clinical trials are only in Phase II. Therefore, a substantial capital injection is required to make the product market-ready. Previously, Viking seemed to be in a state of "waiting for the right price", awaiting the achievement of key milestones. Now, with the release of Phase I data for the oral preparation, it seems to be the best time, making Viking's acquisition a transaction that is increasingly becoming a reality.
Several large companies, including Pfizer and AstraZeneca, have long had their intentions to acquire weight-loss drug assets or companies, which is no secret. AstraZeneca acquired the GLP-1 weight-loss drug asset AZD5004 from China's Eccogene Inc., which is also an oral preparation. However, unlike VK2735, AZD5004 is a small molecule drug. AstraZeneca recently presented Phase I data for AZD5004 at ObesityWeek 2024, showing a four-week weight loss rate of 5.8%. Therefore, AstraZeneca may not have a strong intention to continue acquiring oral weight-loss drug assets. On the other hand, after terminating its small molecule GLP-1 oral weight-loss drug asset lotiglipron, Pfizer also halted the clinical research of another oral small molecule weight-loss drug danuglipron with a twice-daily dosing regimen. Currently, Pfizer only has the once-daily dosing regimen of danuglipron for obesity left, so its acquisition intention may be stronger.
In addition to Viking Therapeutics, other companies that are "acquisition targets" also include the following owners of weight loss drug candidates:
Structure Therapeutics
Headquarters: South San Francisco, California, United States
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