(Bloomberg) -- AbbVie Inc. agreed to pay as much as $2.2 billion for a next-generation obesity drug from Danish biotech Gubra A/S, marking its entry into the hyper-competitive weight-loss market. 

The licensing deal could set the US drugmaker to vie with Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S, the current leaders in a market that’s expected to reach $130 billion in annual sales by 2030. AbbVie agreed to pay Gubra $350 million upfront, plus as much as $1.88 billion in payments for development and commercial milestones, as well as royalties, the companies said on Monday. 

Gubra’s experimental drug, GUBamy, mimics amylin, a different gut hormone than the GLP-1 that’s the backbone of the on-market treatments from Novo and Lilly. The potentially less crowded field may explain the “hefty upfront” price AbbVie paid on the deal, said John Murphy, a London-based analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. 

Gubra’s shares climbed as much as 29%, the most since November. The company’s stock has more than tripled in the past year on optimism over its weight-loss portfolio. 

AbbVie is counting on newer drugs to make up for dropping revenue from its aging blockbuster Humira, an arthritis medicine that was once the world’s best-selling drug. The US company’s near-term growth is also expected to center on immunology drugs, making the move into obesity a significant departure as it seeks experimental medicines to power growth in the longer term. 

“A big player with a lot of muscle, that’s exactly what’s needed to bring this to market quickly,” Gubra Chief Executive Officer Henrik Blou said. “AbbVie is the obvious partner for this. AbbVie will be developing it and putting full pressure on getting it to market.” 

Yet AbbVie may still face challenges, because early data on the Gubra compound suggest it may deliver results in line with a closer-to-market treatment from a rival Danish biotech, Zealand Pharma A/S, Murphy said. The Zealand compound, petrelintide, is “at least a year ahead on time lines,” he said. 

The Gubra deal “sets a reference for a potential deal for Zealand’s petrelintide,” Van Lanschot Kempen analysts led by Suzanne van Voorthuizen said in a note. The terms are higher than anticipated, the team said. 

--With assistance from Damian Garde and Lisa Pham.

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