By Puyaan Singh
Dec 8 (Reuters) – Structure Therapeutics said on Monday its obesity pill showed weight loss of up to 11.3% after 36 weeks of treatment in a mid-stage study, driving the company’s shares more than 140% higher.
Biotechs are vying for a piece of the lucrative obesity treatment market, estimated to be worth $150 billion annually by the early 2030s.
The market is currently dominated by injectables, especially Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. But focus is shifting toward oral drugs as they are easier to manufacture and are expected to improve treatment adherence, especially among those who prefer not to use needles.
The two companies are expected to launch their oral weight-loss drugs next year.
“We can manufacture 6,000 metric tons, enough for 100 million patients per year,” Structure CEO Raymond Stevens said, adding that the company is now looking forward to continuing discussions with strategic partners.
“Now that we have this data, we know everybody’s been waiting.”
Metsera’s acquisition process shows broad interest in obesity assets, potentially providing additional momentum for the stock, JPMorgan’s Hardik Parikh said in a note.
The reduction in weight was seen at 120 mg dose in the study that enrolled 230 adult participants living with obesity with at least one weight-related comorbidity.
“The tolerability profile looks ok, not great, but new data confirm starting at a lower dose improves nausea, vomiting, and discontinuations, and we expect this will translate to an improved Phase 3 profile,” said Citizens Bank analyst Jonathan Wolleben.
“The drug is moving forward with the best weight loss for an oral GLP that allows for flexibility to improve tolerability.”
Another study exploring higher doses of aleniglipron showed weight loss of up to 15.3% at 36 weeks on the 240 mg dose.
Structure plans to start late-stage development of the pill by mid-2026 following a meeting with the Food and Drug Administration in the first half of next year.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Leroy Leo)
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