Competition is possible only when the mid-10% reduction effect is achieved, and the number of doses taken is reduced twice a day → once a day.
Pfizer, which has been struggling in the stock market since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeks a rebound with “obesity drugs.” The results of clinical trials, which will be released at the end of the year, are expected to be a turning point.Pfizer plans to announce the results of a phase 2 clinical trial for “Danuglyphon,” a treatment for obesity developed by the company, at the end of this year. Danuglyphone is a medicine taken twice a day.Pfizer shares rose to an all-time high of $59 at the end of 2021 due to the effect of developing a treatment for the COVID-19 pandemic, but have been on the decline since the pandemic has subsided. Pfizer shares traded at $28.98, down 43.46% from earlier this year.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicted in January that the GLP-1 market, an obesity and diabetes treatment that imitates intestinal hormones and suppresses appetite, could grow to $90 billion. Pfizer also unveiled a plan to develop oral treatments and secure $10 billion in this sector.Pfizer shares on the decline this year. Analysts believe that in order to secure a bridgehead in the obesity treatment market that Pfizer takes, the clinical trial should have a weight loss effect of at least mid-10%. Eli Lilly released the results of a phase 2 clinical trial in June that obese or overweight patients took 45mg of the obesity treatment Orpogliflon once a day for 36 weeks and achieved a weight loss effect of 14.7%. In the same month, Novo Nordisk also released the results of a phase 3 experiment on semaglutide, an obesity treatment taken. Overweight or obese patients lost 15.1% of their weight after 68 weeks as a result of taking 50mg once a day.In the mid-stage experiment of Danuglyphon released by Pfizer earlier, it was found that diabetic patients who took 200mg for 12 weeks lost 5.8% of their weight.It is also Pfizer’s task to develop a treatment that is taken once a day. Pfizer developed a one-time experimental drug on June 1, but discarded it due to the elevated levels of liver enzymes in the experimenters. Wells Fargo analyst Mohad Bansal said in June, “Doctors generally prefer to take once a day rather than twice a day.” Experts say that patients often forget once when they have to take medicine twice.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
