Roche has conducted its joint-largest deal of the year so far, licensing a clinical-stage UCN2 (urocortin-2) analog being developed for weight loss by South Korea-based Hanmi Pharm.
The Swiss big pharma company is paying Hanmi $190m upfront for HM17321, with development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments taking the potential total deal value to $2.3bn. In exchange, Roche’s Genentech will take on development, manufacturing, and commercialisation duties.
Under the licensing agreement, Hanmi will still be responsible for completing an ongoing Phase I clinical trial, after which Genentech will take over development, starting with Phase II clinical trials.
In November 2025, Hanmi received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate clinical trials with HM17321. The ongoing clinical study (NCT07219589) is evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of HM17321 in healthy volunteers and individuals with obesity.
UCN2 is a neuropeptide and hormone that binds to the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 2 (CRHR2). UCN2 has been known to reduce rates of muscle atrophy, which is why it has emerged as a promising mechanism of action for weight loss treatments. Despite the efficacy and popularity of current obesity therapies, researchers are seeking to reduce the loss of muscle mass with next-generation options.
In-Young Choi, senior executive vice president, head of Hanmi’s R&D Division, stated: “The paradigm of obesity treatment is evolving beyond simple weight reduction toward improving body composition and restoring metabolic health. We are very pleased that the differentiated scientific mechanism and development potential of HM17321 have been recognised by the global market.”
Approved weight loss drugs predominantly target glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors (GLP-1s) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), meaning Hanmi is bringing a new mechanism of action to the table. Eli Lilly previously had a UCN2 peptide in development for heart failure treatment but culled the Phase I programme without divulging the reasons in 2019.
Roche will be hoping for a longer clinical journey for its newly licensed asset. According to Hanmi, HM17321 has already shown both quantitative and qualitative improvements in weight reduction when used as a monotherapy and in combination with GLP-1-based therapies in preclinical studies. The company added that HM17321 may also have future potential for use in fixed-dose combination (FDC) products or combination regimens with incretin-based treatments.
Boris Zaïtra, head of corporate business development at Roche, said: “By licensing this next-generation investigational therapy with first-in-class potential from Hanmi, Roche and Genentech will pursue a differentiated approach to selectively reduce fat mass while improving both muscle mass and muscle function. We look forward to further developing this medicine in order to address important unmet needs for people living with obesity and other metabolic diseases.”
The deal marks a bolstering of Roche’s weight loss portfolio as it aims to become one of the top companies in the weight loss market. Roche’s lead obesity candidate is CT-388, brought in house – among other assets – via a $2.7bn acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics in 2023. Roche’s pipeline also includes emugrobart, an anti-myostatin antibody targeting muscle growth. While the company dropped Phase III plans in two muscle wasting diseases, obesity studies with the drug are ongoing.
Eli Lilly, however, will still take some beating across the wider obesity space. Revenue for the drugmaker in Q2 2026 reached $23bn, a surge of 48% from the same period last year, buoyed by continued sales growth for its injectable weight loss drugs.
According to GlobalData’s Obesity: Seven-Market Drug Forecast and Market Analysis – Update, the obesity market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.3% until 2031, reaching sales of $173.5bn across the seven major markets (7MM: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US).
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
“Roche outlays $2.3bn for Hanmi’s non-GLP-1 obesity candidate” was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.