AstraZeneca raises stakes in obesity drug race with Eccogene deal

[November 09, 2023]  By Ludwig Burger

(Reuters) - AstraZeneca moved on Thursday to boost its drugs pipeline in the booming anti-obesity market, saying it would pay China's Eccogene up to about $2 billion for an exclusive licence to develop an experimental oral drug in the field.

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said it had struck the deal for ECC5004, a once-daily oral drug that is part of a class of highly promising weight-loss medicines known as GLP-1 receptor agonists currently dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which have injectable products.

Astra, alongside reporting quarterly results, said Eccogene would receive $185 million up front, plus up to $1.825 billion depending on certain clinical, regulatory, and commercial achievements. Astra also agreed to pay tiered royalties on sales.

The London-listed drugmaker said the compound had shown promise in the first of three phases of testing on humans and ECC5004 would be further developed to treat obesity, type-2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions.

It added that ECC5004 is a small molecule compound, meaning it can be more easily produced than the complex injectable peptides that are the basis of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, also known as Mounjaro or tirzepatide.

A company logo is seen at the AstraZeneca site in Macclesfield, Britain, May 11, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

U.S. and UK regulators both gave the thumbs up to Lilly's Zepbound on Wednesday, paving the way for a powerful new rival to Novo's Wegovy in addressing record obesity rates.

Astra has already entered the race for a next generation of weight-loss drugs. Also in the first phase of clinical trials, it has been testing a potential obesity drug based on the gastrointestinal hormone amylin as well as a once-weekly injection that is based on two modes of action including GLP-1.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Yadarisa Shabong; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)

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