Pfizer shelves obesity pill plan after patient suffers liver injury during clinical trial – Firstpost

Pfizer Inc. has said it will discontinue development of its closely watched obesity pill, danuglipron, dealing a severe blow to the company’s ambitions to compete in the rapidly growing weight-loss drug market dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

According to a Bloomberg report, citing a statement released on Monday, Pfizer said the decision followed the identification of a potentially drug-related liver injury in a patient participating in a clinical trial.

Due to the safety concern, the company has opted not to advance the once-daily oral treatment into Phase 3 trials and will instead invest in earlier-stage treatments for obesity, added the report.

Pfizer has positioned the obesity drug market as a key pillar of its strategy to rebound after the decline in COVID-19-related revenues. As global demand for coronavirus vaccines and treatments continues to wane, the weight-loss drug industry is experiencing rapid growth and is projected to reach $130 billion by the end of the decade, reported Bloomberg.

However, Pfizer has been trailing its competitors. Eli Lilly’s weekly weight-loss injection, Zepbound, quickly generated nearly $5 billion in annual sales following its US approval in 2023. The company is also advancing an oral version of the treatment, now in late-stage trials. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca, Structure Therapeutics, and several other drugmakers are actively developing their own oral obesity medications.

Pfizer previously halted development of a twice-daily version of danuglipron after a mid-stage trial involving around 1,400 participants reported high rates of nausea and vomiting, prompting significant patient dropouts.

Earlier, the company also discontinued another oral obesity candidate due to liver safety concerns observed during clinical testing.

According to the report, the latest setback adds to mounting pressure on Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who has consistently highlighted the company’s drug pipeline as an undervalued asset for long-term growth.

Pfizer faces the looming loss of approximately $15 billion in revenue by the end of the decade as several of its key products lose patent protection, added the report.

Despite a series of multibillion-dollar acquisitions aimed at bolstering its portfolio, the company has yet to deliver a new blockbuster therapy.

Meanwhile, investor confidence has waned, with Pfizer shares declining more than 60% since their peak during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

With inputs from agencies