Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY.N) announced on Thursday that it will begin late-stage clinical trials of its experimental obesity drug, eloralintide, next month following promising results from a mid-stage trial that demonstrated weight loss of up to 20.1% in patients. Shares of Eli Lilly rose nearly 2% in premarket trading on the news.
Breakthrough in Obesity Treatment
Eloralintide belongs to a class of drugs that mimic the pancreatic hormone amylin, which helps slow digestion and suppress appetite. This mechanism differs from most first-generation obesity medications, which primarily target the gut hormone GLP-1. The drug represents a next-generation approach in weight-loss therapies, focusing on both fat reduction and muscle mass preservation.
In the mid-stage trial:
- Patients on a 1 mg dose lost 9.5% of body weight (10.2 kg).
- Patients on the highest 9 mg dose lost 20.1% of body weight (21.3 kg).
- By comparison, patients on placebo lost only 0.2 kg over 48 weeks.
The trial enrolled 263 adults who were overweight and had at least one obesity-related comorbidity, excluding individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Additional Health Benefits
Beyond weight loss, eloralintide demonstrated improvements in several cardiometabolic markers, including:
- Waist circumference
- Blood pressure
- Lipid profiles
- Glycemic control
- Inflammatory markers
The most common side effects were mild to moderate gastrointestinal issues and fatigue, which were more frequent at higher doses. Gradual dose escalation appeared to improve tolerability.
“The data shows eloralintide offers the potential for strong efficacy with improved tolerability and could serve as an alternative to incretin therapies,” said Kenneth Custer, President of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health.
Competitive Landscape and Partnerships
Several major pharmaceutical companies, including Roche (ROG.S) and AbbVie (ABBV.N), have invested in experimental amylin-based drugs. Danish biotech company Zealand Pharma (ZELA.CO) is testing a competing drug, petrelintide, in collaboration with Roche. Shares of Zealand Pharma fell 9.5% at 1216 GMT following the announcement.
Eloralintide is being studied both as a standalone treatment and in combination with Lilly’s blockbuster GLP-1 drug, tirzepatide (sold as Zepbound) in mid-stage trials, potentially offering a dual-hormone therapy approach for obesity management.
Policy and Market Implications
Eli Lilly, along with competitor Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), is also awaiting a potential White House agreement that could reduce prices of blockbuster weight-loss medications in exchange for expanded market access, highlighting the evolving U.S. regulatory and pricing landscape for obesity treatments.
The move to late-stage trials underscores the growing demand for innovative obesity therapies as healthcare systems globally seek more effective solutions for weight management and related cardiometabolic conditions.
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