LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Danish biotech Zealand Pharma said on Thursday it will accelerate development and expand its research as it seeks to differentiate its experimental obesity drug candidates in an increasingly competitive race to treat metabolic health issues.
“We unveil our aim to build a generational biotech company that will fundamentally transform how we treat obesity and metabolic disease,” CEO Adam Steensberg said in a statement ahead of a capital markets day for investors in London.
Analysts have predicted that the global obesity market could reach about $150 billion annually by the early 2030s.
Zealand is developing petrelintide in partnership with Roche, an obesity candidate targeting the pancreatic hormone amylin, which has shown fewer and less severe gastrointestinal side effects in early trials than the GLP-1 drugs Wegovy and Zepbound already on the market.
A clinical readout of the mid-stage trial of petrelintide is expected in the first quarter of 2026, the company said in its statement.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick in London and Terje Solsvik in Oslo, editing by Essi Lehto)
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