Dapiglutide

Zealand Pharma put today’s deal with OTR Therapeutics in the context of an updated strategy dubbed “Metabolic Frontier 2030.”\n OTR Therapeutics may still be keeping its own pipeline under wraps, but Zealand Pharma has seen enough promise in the Chinese biotech’s platform to agree to up to $30 million in upfront payments.Zealand wants to use OTR’s oral small-molecule platform to “discover and develop novel therapeutics for multiple targets in metabolic diseases,” according to a Dec. 11 release. In return, the Danish drug developer has agreed to hand over $20 million upfront—rising to $30 million “under certain pre-agreed conditions,” according to the release.Beyond that, OTR will be eligible for preclinical, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments that could reach $2.5 billion “with the majority representing commercial milestones.” The Chinese company will also be in line for tiered single-digit royalties on worldwide sales should a drug eventually make it to market.Zealand put this morning’s deal in the context of an updated strategy dubbed “Metabolic Frontier 2030.” The road map includes targeting five product launches by 2030 as well as evolving “industry-leading cycle times from idea to clinic.”The ultimate goal is to become a “generational biotech leader in obesity and metabolic health,” the company explained in a separate release this morning.Zealand’s pipeline includes the phase 2-stage Roche-partnered amylin analogue petrelintide as well as the phase 3-stage glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist survodutide, which is in development with Boehringer Ingelheim.Last month, Zealand hit pause on one of its obesity candidates, known as dapiglutide, as the company strives to focus its time and money on “programs with the greatest potential for clinical differentiation and long-term value creation.”Zealand Chief Scientific Officer Utpal Singh, Ph.D., said the multiprogram pact with OTR “will expand our metabolic health pipeline into oral small-molecule therapeutics for targets where we have deep biological expertise, complementing our strong peptide R&D platform.” “This partnership is an early testament—with more to follow—to the execution of our updated strategy to further strengthen and evolve our platform, broadening treatment options for people living with overweight, obesity, and other metabolic diseases,” Singh added. “We are confident the partnership with OTR Therapeutics will be highly productive in achieving our shared goal of expanding treatment options for people living with metabolic diseases.”We still don’t know too much about OTR. The Shanghai-based company—which only launched back in March—has so far kept its pipeline under wraps, only disclosing that it covers “differentiated programs that target significant treatment gaps in immunology and inflammation, oncology and other disease areas,” such as cardiometabolic conditions.OTR also revealed last week that it had raised a $100 million series A back in June, backed by the likes of Pfizer Ventures. The biotech—which is already a member of the Bayer Co.Lab life sciences incubator network—is using the series A funds to expand the capability of its hub in Shanghai\'s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park.OTR’s founder and CEO Zhui Chen, Ph.D., said this morning’s pact “represents a strong endorsement of our proprietary platform and strategic vision, and our proven ability to drive innovation and deliver quality and speed in execution.”“By combining our strengths in innovative drug discovery and development with Zealand Pharma’s deep expertise in the disease area, we are well positioned to discover potentially transformative therapies for patients worldwide,” the CEO added.

Zealand Pharma on Thursday outlined its ambitious plans of becoming "a generational biotech leader" in obesity and metabolic health, with hopes of launching five new drugs by 2030. The company detailed its strategy alongside announcing a drug-development deal with OTR Therapeutics potentially worth up to $2.5 billion.CEO Adam Steensberg said that Zealand's plan seeks to move "beyond the 'weight-loss Olympics' toward solutions that support the everyday needs, aspirations and overall well-being of people living with overweight, obesity and metabolic imbalance."Just last month, the company paused development of the experimental GLP-1/GLP-2 dual agonist dapiglutide, citing a crowded market for obesity drugs, headed by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. At the time, Zealand indicated that it would instead put resources behind weight-loss programmes with the greatest potential for clinical differentiation.And the company is now providing more details on its plans. "Our strategy is built to enable multiple waves of innovation in metabolic health — from our foundational amylin franchise to breakthrough approaches that will not only shatter the adherence ceiling observed with current medicines in obesity, but deliver a world-class metabolic health pipeline," Steensberg remarked.Zealand's pipeline already includes the Roche-partnered amylin analogue petrelintide, and the glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist survodutide, which is under development with Boehringer Ingelheim. Mid-stage data for petrelintide are expected in the first quarter of 2026, with Phase III results for survodutide reading out throughout next year.Pipeline growthThe Danish drugmaker is hoping to boost its development pipeline to over 10 clinical programmes by 2030, aided by a new research site in Boston, which will employ AI-driven drug discovery, advanced automation and next-generation molecule creation.Adding to this, the company announced Thursday a multi-programme collaboration and license agreement with OTR to jointly discover and develop novel therapeutics for multiple targets in metabolic diseases. Under the deal, OTR will use its oral small-molecule platform to conduct research and preclinical development, with Zealand assuming clinical development, regulatory submissions and global commercialisation.Utpal Singh, Zealand's chief scientific officer, noted that the "collaboration will expand our metabolic health pipeline into oral small-molecule therapeutics for targets where we have deep biological expertise."As part of the deal, the Danish company will make an initial upfront payment of $20 million, which may increase to $30 million under certain circumstances, with OTR eligible for milestones of up to around $2.5 billion, the majority of which are linked to commercial goals. OTR also stands to receive tiered single-digit sales royalties."This partnership is an early testament — with more to follow — to the execution of our updated strategy," Singh added.