STAT+: Pfizer says it will advance once-daily GLP-1 pill after all

Pfizer said that it plans to advance a new once-a-day formulation of its experimental obesity drug danuglipron, meant to be a pill version in the same class as popular injections like Wegovy and Zepbound.

The medicine had at one point been a key focus for many investors, with Pfizer talking up the potential of the obesity market and saying it had two potential experimental obesity medicines in development. But development of one of these pills was stopped because it caused elevations in liver enzymes. Then, in December, a twice-daily version of danuglipron was not taken forward after a trial showed the weight reductions were smaller than those seen with rival drugs and there was a high rate of side effects like nausea.

Medicines targeting GLP-1, which were originally developed as treatments for diabetes, have become among the best-selling drugs in the industry and have made their makers, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, among the most valuable publicly traded companies. Novo’s Wegovy has also been shown to reduce the risk of heart problems in people with obesity. But traditionally, small molecule pills have been far more popular with patients than medicines that must be injected, and companies see even bigger sales potential if they can bring forward pills or tablets with similar efficacy. Numerous drugmakers have been racing to develop oral versions.

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