Zealand Pharma has named Roche as a development and commercialisation partner for its lead obesity candidate petrelintide, after a seven-month search.
Under the deal, Zealand will receive an upfront payment of $1.65bn, with the potential for milestone payments bringing the total deal value to $5.3bn, depending on Phase III trials and commercial performance.
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Zealand and Roche will co-develop and co-commercialise Zealand’s amylin analogue petrelintide as a monotherapy, and in combination therapies. The first planned combination will pair petrelintide with Roche’s glucagon-like peptide 1/gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GLP-1/GIP) agonist candidate CT-388.
Inherited by Roche through its $2.7bn acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics, CT-388 has demonstrated efficacy in early trials. In a Phase Ib trial (NCT04838405), participants taking the therapy achieved a mean placebo-adjusted weight loss of 18.8% at 24 weeks. CT-388 is currently being studied in two Phase IIb clinical trials in people with overweight/obesity with (NCT06628362) and without type 2 diabetes (NCT06525935).
As part of the collaboration, Zealand will contribute $350m to support the study of the CT-388/petrelintide combo. The companies will share profits and losses on a 50/50 basis in the US and Europe while Zealand will receive tiered royalties on net sales in other global markets.
Zealand first shared that it was eyeing up a partner to study and commercialise its lead weight loss candidate back in August 2024. However, its failure to announce a deal in its February earnings report last month disappointed investors. At the time, CEO Adam Steensberg reassured stakeholders that the company was “exactly where it wants to be in the process”. Zealand has delivered this promise with the Roche partnership now secured.
The collaboration marks Zealand’s progression into the obesity space, which is dominated by GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) such as Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (branded as Wegovy and Ozempic), and Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide (branded as Mounjaro and Zepbound).
Petrelintide is currently being investigated in the Phase II ZUPREME clinical trial (NCT06662539). While GLP-1RAs such as semaglutide work by stimulating insulin secretion, reducing glucagon levels, and slowing gastric emptying, amylin analogues such as petrelintide act through a different mechanism. By mimicking the hormone amylin, they suppress glucagon secretion, slow gastric emptying, and restore sensitivity to the satiety hormone leptin. Zealand believes this distinct mode of action could position petrelintide as a best-in-class therapy in obesity and diabetes.
“We strongly believe that petrelintide holds potential as a foundational therapy for weight management,” said Steensberg in the 12 March announcement accompanying the deal.
Investor confidence in Zealand’s obesity pipeline has remained high. In June 2024, the company raised $1bn through a share offering, surpassing its original target of $900m. In January 2024, Zealand secured an additional DKr1.45bn ($204m) in funding for its obesity pipeline through a private placement and directed share issue to US investment firms.
Zealand’s other major obesity candidate, survodutide, a glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist developed with Boehringer Ingelheim, is already in Phase III trials for obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Rates of obesity across populations are increasing, and the market for obesity drugs is set to reach $37.1bn across the seven major markets (US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan), by 2031, according to a GlobalData report.
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