Roche Secures Zealand Pharma’s Obesity Drug in $5.3 Billion Deal

Swiss drugs giant Roche has entered a deal with Danish firm Zealand Pharma, for an obesity drug worth as much as $5.3 billion. According to Yahoo Finance, the deal is for a compound named, “Petrelintide,” and marks the company’s renewed efforts to compete with market giants like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lily in the weight loss market.

Teresa Graham, CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals said of the exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement, “We are excited to collaborate with Zealand Pharma and develop this promising therapy, which we hope will provide people living with obesity and related comorbidities a new treatment option,”

The Zealand Pharma deal highlights the growing investments in biotech obesity drugs as pharma giants speed up for developing new weight loss treatments. Under the deal, Zealand Pharma will get a payment of $1.65 billion. Other milestone payments summing up to $5.3 billion will be based on Phase 3 trial results and sales performance, Roche said.

The Roche Zealand Pharma Deal

The Roche Zealand Pharma agreement includes an upfront payment of $280 million for Zealand Pharma and with some further milestone payments worth potentially a total of $5.3 billion. The agreement gives Roche exclusive global rights for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of the obesity drug candidate.

In the United States and Europe, Zealand and Roche will together do the commercialization of Petrelintide.  While Roche will hold exclusive commercialization rights for the rest of the world. Profits and losses for Petrelintide, along with a fixed-dose of Roche’s CT-388, will be shared equally, according to Roche.

Competition Heats Up

The Zealand Pharma partnership puts Roche in competition with big pharmaceutical companies, such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. These drugs have changed the market. It enables patients to lose substantial amounts of weight and reduce the risk of obesity-related conditions. This deal is Roche’s bet that it can push a breakthrough therapy to market successfully, and it could gain an edge in competitiveness in the multi-billion-dollar-obesity-drug market.

As the global fight against obesity intensifies, Roche’s obesity drug collaboration with Zealand Pharma could mark the beginning of a new era in weight loss treatments. The success of this partnership will be closely watched as both companies work to bring a new, innovative therapy to patients worldwide.