Roche partners with Zealand Pharma to push forward obesity drug

LONDON — Looking to expand its obesity offerings, Roche on Wednesday said it had partnered with Zealand Pharma to license an experimental weight loss drug for $1.65 billion in upfront cash.

The Swiss pharma giant and the Danish biotech will now work together to develop Zealand’s drug candidate petrelintide, aiming to test it on its own and in combination with Roche’s experimental CT-388.

The agreement includes additional payments based on certain clinical and sales goals being met, totaling up to $5.3 billion.

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