Pfizer’s Appetite for More Obesity Meds Leads to $150M Deal for Oral GLP-1 Drug From China
Fresh off the acquisition of metabolic medicines developer Metsera, Pfizer is again turning to dealmaking to expand its obesity drug pipeline, this time picking up an experimental oral drug that could become part of combinations with other assets in the pharmaceutical giant’s pipeline.
The drug, YP05002, comes from YaoPharma, a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical. Per deal terms announced Tuesday, Pfizer will pay $150 million up front for global rights to the asset, which is currently in early clinical development.
YP05002 is an oral small molecule designed to activate GLP-1. Pfizer fell short in its own efforts to develop an oral small molecule addressing the target. Last year, the company discontinued development of danuglipron after a safety signal emerged in a Phase 1 study.
In a note sent to investors, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said his understanding is that the chemical scaffold of the YaoPharma drug is similar to that of orforglipron, the oral obesity drug that Eli Lilly has steered through Phase 3 development and is currently on track for an FDA submission. Similarity to the Lilly drug could avoid the safety signal that emerged with danuglipron.
Despite discontinuing danuglipron, Pfizer has other obesity drug candidates in its pipeline. PF-07976016, an oral small molecule designed to block the GIP receptor, is currently in Phase 2 development. Pfizer said it plans to test YaoPharma’s drug in combination with PF-07976016 and other small molecules in its pipeline.
“We look forward to contributing our expertise and resources to continue the development of this investigational GLP-1 small molecule which complements and strengthens our growing portfolio of novel candidates for treating obesity and its adjacent diseases,” Chris Boshoff, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer and president, research & development, said in a prepared statement.
YaoPharma’s YP05002 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 single and ascending multiple dose study with a targeted enrollment of 76 healthy volunteers. Data are expected in April 2026. Pfizer’s agreement with YaoPharma calls for the Shanghai-based biotech to complete the Phase 1 clinical trial. Beyond the upfront payment, Pfizer could pay YaoPharma could up to $1.9 billion in milestone payments, plus royalties from sales if the drug reaches the market.
Other companies are further along in their development of oral obesity drugs. One of them, Structure Therapeutics, reported preliminary Phase 2b data Monday showing its small molecule agonist of the GLP-1 receptor, now named alenglipron (formerly called GSBR-1290), led to an average 11.3% weight loss. That result at 36 weeks was for the highest of three doses tested. The most common adverse effects were gastrointestinal, which is consistent with all GLP-1 drugs. Discontinuation rates ranged from 7.7% to 13.3% across all doses.
Acknowledging all of the caveats with cross-trial comparisons, William Blair analyst Andy Hsieh said in a Monday research note that the magnitude of weight loss for alenglipron is comparable to the Phase 2 results for Lilly’s orforglipron, making Structure’s drug competitive. But he also pointed out that vomiting and nausea rates for Structure’s drug were higher than the rates reported for Lilly’s drug.
Structure said alenglipron’s trial data support advancing the small molecule to Phase 3 testing, which it aims to start in mid-2026. The trial readout led Structure’s stock price to spike about 100% on Monday. Hsieh said the stock movement was likely due to expectations of an M&A deal, especially following the public bidding war for Metsera. Structure is taking advantage of the stock price rise with a proposed $500 million stock offering.
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