Zealand Pharma on Thursday reported early positive results of an investigational obesity drug that activates a hormone that’s not targeted by popular treatments Wegovy and Zepbound.
In one part of a Phase 1b study, petrelintide, which targets the amylin hormone, led to 8.6% weight loss at 16 weeks, more than the 1.7% weight loss among patients taking placebo, the Danish company said.
Though these are early findings, they show that Zealand’s injectable treatment has potential to deliver substantial weight loss, possibly helping it to compete with blockbuster treatments from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Zealand is also hoping petrelintide will be more tolerable than the obesity drugs on the market, which can cause nausea and vomiting.
