It\u2019s been less than two years since Roche dove into the obesity space with its $2.7 billion acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics\u2014but a lot has changed since then.<\/p>\n
The bet on Carmot appeared to pay off back in May 2024, when CT-388, an injectable dual GLP-1\/GIP receptor agonist picked up as part of the deal, was linked to placebo-adjusted weight loss of 18.8%<\/a> at 24 weeks. The results suggested that the therapy could hold its own against the likes of Novo Nordisk\u2019s blockbuster Wegovy, which achieved 14.9% weight loss by 68 weeks.<\/p>\n It was only in recent months that the shine slightly came off the Carmot buy, when Roche revealed that it was already dropping a different asset<\/a> from the deal, a long-acting PYY analog dubbed CT-173, despite having previously praised the drug\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a very early-stage program … and ultimately, when we bounced it up against our bar assessment, the criteria for developability and competitiveness just weren’t there, and so we made the decision to terminate it,\u201d Roche Pharma CEO Teresa Graham told investors at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall with our obesity portfolio, I think we still feel very confident that we have a potentially best-in-disease and highly competitive portfolio of products,\u201d Graham added at the July event.<\/p>\n By that point, Roche had truly staked its claim in the weight loss arena, thanks to a massive $1.6 billion upfront deal<\/a> to codevelop and co-commercialize Zealand Pharma\u2019s long-acting amylin analog petrelintide.<\/p>\n Roche now has the financial commitment and the candidates to become a serious obesity player, but it remains to be seen exactly what approach the pharma will take. The drugmaker\u2019s leadership will touch down in London on Monday for the company\u2019s Pharma Day, and executives have previously hinted to Fierce Biotech that this will be a chance for Roche to lay out its obesity strategy in full.<\/p>\n One of the key questions is whether Roche will take CT-388 into phase 3 studies and, if so, what form this program will take. Speaking to Fierce in July, Graham said Roche was \u201cright on the cusp\u201d of moving forward with the GLP-1\/GIP agonist.<\/p>\n Still, Roche could be forgiven for starting to have second thoughts about jumping into the obesity space with both feet. Recent months have seen Novo kick off a major restructure<\/a> in the wake of underwhelming data<\/a> for its next-gen obesity portfolio. Meanwhile, Pfizer has almost abandoned<\/a> the field completely, while even current obesity frontrunner Eli Lilly found itself defending its oral GLP-1 weight loss data as being \u201cas good as it gets<\/a>\u201d for a drug of this type.<\/p>\n When Graham spoke to Fierce\u2014before this run of downbeat headlines\u2014the Roche Pharma CEO sounded confident that combinations offer Roche a path to carving out its own corner of the increasingly crowded obesity space.<\/p>\n \u201cObesity is inherent in something like 200 other diseases,\u201d she told Fierce in an interview at the company\u2019s Swiss headquarters in July. \u201cSo the ability to actually look at where we believe our portfolio in combination with other drugs can really help address some of these comorbidities is one of the more exciting pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about Zealand\u2019s petrelintide specifically, Graham explained that she saw the drug\u2019s potential growing among patients \u201clooking for maybe different depths of weight loss or different tolerability profiles.\u201d<\/p>\n Roche isn\u2019t the only one who is optimistic about petrelintide\u2019s potential. William Blair analysts said last month that the amylin analog is poised to \u201ccapture market share in the obesity space.\u201d The first real test will be a readout of the phase 2b Zupreme-1 study, which is expected in the first half of 2026.<\/p>\n