Investing.com -- Zealand Pharma shares surged more than 41% on Wednesday after announcing a $5.3 billion licensing deal with Roche for its GLP-1 obesity therapy petrelintide.
The agreement gives Roche access to petrelintide, a compound currently being tested in overweight or obese individuals without type 2 diabetes. It positions Zealand Pharma (NASDAQ:ZEAL) alongside major players like Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) in the highly competitive weight-loss drug market.
Speaking to Investing.com, Zealand Pharma CEO Adam Steensberg said that “together with Roche, we believe we can unlock the full value potential of petrelintide.”
He highlighted Roche’s strong track record in disrupting markets and redefining standards of care, noting that the collaboration includes Roche’s GLP-1/GIP.
“By including their GLP-1/GIP as a part of our partnership - combining two agents with best-in-class potential - we reinforce our joint vision for petrelintide as a foundational therapy for weight management and further expand the patient segments we seek to serve,” said Steensberg.
Zealand’s amylin-based petrelintide therapy is seen as a potential best-in-class weight management drug.
Steensberg underlined the importance of innovation in this rapidly growing field: “We are still in the very early stages of the evolution of this market and we need many more and better treatment options for the very large and diverse population with overweight/obesity and related comorbidities.”
With GLP-1 receptor agonists already dominating obesity treatment, Zealand’s non-incretin mechanism is generating increasing interest among healthcare professionals.
“The interest in amylin has increased significantly in the last 6-12 months in the medical community,” Steensberg added, referencing recent discussions at EASD and ObesityWeek in 2024.
He believes this trend will continue as more data supports amylin analogs as a new category in weight management therapies.
The Zealand-Roche partnership aims to create a leading obesity franchise for the 2030s, a move that could challenge the market dominance of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. “Together, we have two assets with best-in-class potential,” Steensberg stated.
When asked about additional partnerships or licensing deals, Steensberg declined to comment but left the door open for future collaborations, saying, “We remain open to routes which allow us to deliver best-in-class therapies for weight management to the benefit of patients.”