AbbVie (ABBV) inked a licensing deal Monday worth up to $2.23 billion for an amylin-targeting obesity treatment from Denmark-based Gubra A/S.
The news marks AbbVie's first foray into weight-loss drugs.
↑ X NOW PLAYING The Weight-Loss Drug Market Is Hot. Which Medical Stock Will Win The Battle For Supremacy?"Our partnership with Gubra marks our entry into the obesity field, offering a compelling opportunity based on the potential to address patient needs while also fostering long-term growth for our company," AbbVie Chief Executive Robert Michael said in a statement.
Like GLP-1, amylin is a hormone that plays a role in regulating blood sugar levels and appetite. In Phase 1 testing, 48 patients received Gubra's drug, GUB014295. All high single-dose recipients achieved 3% average weight loss over the six-week period, compared to a 1% gain for the placebo group.
The next study will test multiple ascending doses of the obesity treatment, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said in a client note.
AbbVie stock rose a fraction to 210.20.
Under the terms of the deal, AbbVie will pay Gubra $350 million up front. The smaller company is also eligible to receive up to $1.875 billion in development, commercial and sales milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on global net sales.
Though weight-loss drug makers are still focused on the GLP-1 mechanism, amylin is gaining steam as a potential new target in the space.
"We believe this transaction highlights a growing interest in amylin agonists (and particularly dual amylin-calcitonin receptor agonists, as DACRAs) as a next wave of obesity assets (emerges), particularly for companies looking to break into the field despite being well behind GLP-1 leaders Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO)," William Blair analyst Matt Phipps said in a note.
Novo is already testing a drug called amycretin that mimics both GLP-1 and amylin, while Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) has said it could have a quadruple approach to obesity treatment, targeting GLP-1, GIPR, amylin and calcitonin. GIPR is another common obesity target, while calcitonin regulates calcium levels.
Structure Therapeutics (GPCR) also has an amylin drug in testing.
AbbVie could develop Gubra's drug as a single drug for obesity, which could provide a more tolerable experience with moderate weight loss. This would likely be best in patients who don't respond to Lilly's and Novo's current drugs. Or, it could be used in combination with GLP-1 and GIPR drugs to drive greater weight loss, Phipps said.
In the Phase 1 study, 83% of patients who received the highest dose of Gubra's weight-loss drug had nausea and 17% experienced vomiting.
Like weight-loss leaders Wegovy and Zepbound, GUB014295 is a once-weekly under-the-skin shot.
Phipps and Leerink's Risinger both rate AbbVie stock an outperform.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X/Twitter at @AGatlin_IBD.
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