AbbVie ABBV announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Denmark-based biotech Gubra for the latter’s experimental obesity drug, GUB014295. This marks the American drugmaker’s foray into the lucrative obesity market.

Per the terms, AbbVie will lead the development and commercialization of GUB014295. In return, Gubra will receive an upfront cash payment of $350 million. The Denmark-based biotech will also be eligible to receive up to $1.875 billion in milestone payments, along with tiered royalties based on global net sales.

GUB014295 is a long-acting amylin analog currently being evaluated in an early-stage study. It has been designed to target receptors linked to appetite control, mimicking the effects of amylin — a hormone that helps signal fullness, reduce food intake and slow digestion. By extending these effects, AbbVie believes that GUB014295 could offer a long-lasting solution for weight management, making it an intriguing candidate in the growing market for obesity therapies.

This deal’s closure is subject to the fulfillment of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

ABBV Stock Performance

Year to date, shares of AbbVie have risen 18% compared with the industry’s 12% growth.

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Stiff Competition in the Obesity Space

The obesity market has garnered much interest lately, with two companies, Eli Lilly LLY and Novo Nordisk NVO, dominating this space with their respective obesity drugs Zepbound and Wegovy. Per a research conducted by Goldman Sachs, the obesity market in the United States is expected to reach $100 billion by 2030. This is also evident from the fact that all large drugmakers are looking to strengthen their presence in this market by expanding their existing obesity pipeline or acquiring smaller biotechs whose pipeline has novel obesity candidates.

Lilly is investing broadly in obesity and has several new molecules currently in clinical development. These include two late-stage candidates, orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 small molecule and retatrutide, a GGG tri-agonist and some mid-stage candidates, bimagrumab, eloralintide and mazdutide.

Like Lilly, Novo Nordisk is developing multiple other candidates, including the unimolecular GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist amycretin and next-gen subcutaneous obesity treatment candidate, CagriSema. NVO is also evaluating several other obesity drugs across separate early to mid-stage studies.

Another biotech that has shown encouraging potential in the obesity space is Viking Therapeutics VKTX, which is developing its experimental obesity drug VK2735, both as an oral pill and subcutaneous (SC) injection across different stages of clinical development. Last November, VKTX reported updated data from an early-stage study, which showed that patients who received its obesity drug lost up to 8.2% of their body weight after 28 days of daily dosing compared to 1.4% in the placebo group. Based on this data, Viking recently started a mid-stage study on the oral obesity drug.

AbbVie entered the obesity space just a few months after Merck secured a licensing deal for an investigational oral weight-loss drug developed by China-based Hansoh Pharma.

CHMP Endorses AbbVie’s Rinvoq for Giant Cell Arteritis

On Friday, AbbVie announced that the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (“CHMP”) issued a positive opinion on its blockbuster immunology drug Rinvoq to treat adults with giant cell arteritis (GCA).

A final decision from the European Commission is expected in first-half 2025. If approved, Rinvoq will be the first approved oral therapy for GCA.

The positive CHMP endorsement is supported by data from the pivotal phase III SELECT-GCA study, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of Rinvoq in adults with GCA. The study achieved its primary endpoint of sustained remission and key secondary endpoints.

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