Amgen posts mid-stage data for weight loss therapy
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Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced Tuesday that its experimental weight loss therapy MariTide generated up to ~20% of weight loss on average in roughly over a year in a Phase 2 trial for people living with obesity or overweight but without Type 2 diabetes.
The company added that in people with obesity or overweight plus Type 2 diabetes, the average weight loss over the same timeframe of 52 weeks reached up to ~17%.
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) noted that both study populations didn’t indicate a weight loss plateau, meaning there is potential for further weight loss beyond 52 weeks.
In light of the data, the company announced a Phase 3 program called MARITIME for MariTide, a bispecific molecule designed to target gut hormone receptors (GLP-1) as well as glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptors.
However, shares of the Thousand Oaks, California-based company fell ~8% in reaction to the much-awaited trial readout, while its rivals Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO), which already market FDA-approved weight loss drugs, gained.
Clinical trials for LLY’s (LLY) Zepbound and Novo’s (NVO) GLP-1 products have shown that they are linked to 15%—20% of weight loss in obese adults.
As for safety, AMGN said its injectable, given monthly or less frequently, was not associated with bone mineral density changes, a recent concern by Cantor Fitzgerald that caused a selloff in its stock early this month.
However, Amgen (AMGN) added that MariTide was linked to gastrointestinal adverse events such as nausea.
“These results provide us confidence to initiate MARITIME, a Phase 3 program across obesity and a number of related conditions, providing a unique potential new treatment option for patients,” Amgen’s (AMGN) science chief Jay Bradner remarked.
Other drug developers of experimental weight loss therapies include Pfizer (PFE), AstraZeneca (AZN), Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), Altimmune (ALT), Structure Therapeutics (GPCR), Zealand Pharma (OTCPK:ZLDPF), and Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (RYTM).