Boehringer Ingelheim joins the obesity drug race, unveiling promising results

Boehringer Ingelheim has joined the race for the next generation of obesity drugs, as a recent trial revealed that its treatment helped participants on the highest dose shed an impressive 19% of their body weight.

With its sights set on launching a late-stage trial, Boehringer Ingelheim aims to compete against Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in the obesity drug market. Other players, including Pfizer and Regeneron, are also vying to enter the fray.

While direct comparisons are challenging, previous results demonstrated that participants on Mounjaro achieved an average weight loss of 22.5%, while Wegovy study patients experienced around 15% weight reduction.

Boehringer Ingelheim believes that extended use of its drug, as indicated by the continuous weight loss observed in its 48-week trial, could yield even greater results in terms of weight loss during the phase 3 trial, which is currently being discussed with regulatory authorities.

Paola Casarosa, Head of Therapeutic Areas at Boehringer Ingelheim, expressed confidence in observing “an even stronger effect” in the larger and longer phase 3 trial, highlighting the absence of any plateauing of effects as an encouraging finding.

The introduction of the first two obesity drugs has dramatically transformed the fortunes of the pharmaceutical companies involved. Novo Nordisk’s shares have skyrocketed by 247% in the past five years, while Eli Lilly has become the world’s largest pharmaceutical company by market capitalization on the back of hopes for its obesity and Alzheimer’s drugs.

Meeting the surge in demand driven by celebrity endorsements and the use of similar drugs for weight loss in diabetics has posed challenges for these companies. According to the World Health Organization, global obesity rates have tripled since 1975, and a Harvard study predicts that nearly half of Americans will have obesity by 2030.

Boehringer Ingelheim’s survodutide, developed in collaboration with Danish biotech Zealand Pharma, functions by mimicking a hormone called GLP-1 to reduce appetite, similar to existing drugs. However, survodutide also mimics glucagon, a hormone known to accelerate the rate at which the body burns energy.

Casarosa emphasised the importance of finding the right balance, stating that meaningful and impactful weight loss relies on the interplay between food intake and metabolism adjustment.

Moreover, the drug shows potential in addressing fat accumulation in the liver, a condition affecting 70% of patients with obesity and associated with diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

However, approximately a quarter of trial participants dropped out due to side effects, primarily gastrointestinal in nature, akin to the nausea experienced by users of approved obesity drugs. Boehringer Ingelheim believes that such issues can be mitigated by gradually increasing the dosage in future applications.