Pfizer announced on Monday that he was finishing work on a experimental slimming pill after the patient during a clinical trial increased the level of liver enzymes.
Pfizer spokesman said in a statement that the patient's liver enzymes “regenerated quickly” after stopping the medicine.
The statement suggests that the patient's liver enzymes have been increased, which often indicates cell damage in the organ and is a problem that has been associated with some other drugs for obesity – notes CNBC.
The case took place during a study, in which the dose of the drug was quickly increased in a short period of time, said the spokesman. Pfizer's decision to suspend the development of the drug was made after the “review of all information, including all clinical data generated so far for Danuglipron and recent data from regulators,” according to a message.
Pfizer behind the competition
“Although we are disappointed in the cessation of work on Danuglipron, we are still involved in the assessment and development of promising programs in order to provide patients with innovative new drugs,” said Dr. Chris Boshoff, scientific director at Pfizer. He added that the company is still developing other slimming drugs.
This announcement is another failure in the company's efforts to get a part of the GLP-1 receptor agonist market, which are used as diabetes and obesity drugs.
Pfizer is one of several producers of racing drugs to introduce a more convenient medicine for slimming to the space dominated by weekly injections, but it is a summer behind competitors, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
Drugs for slimming. The industry is worth billions
Some analysts from Wall Street expect that the GLP-1 industry will be worth over $ 150 billion. Until the early 1930s.
This is not Pfizer's first defeat with Danuglipron. The company withdrew the version of the pill to take twice a day in December 2023 after patients had problems with the drug tolerance. Since then, investors have been pessimistic about the company's potential in the GLP-1 area.
Danuglipron Pfizer supports weight loss by focusing on the GLP-1 receptor, as well as injections Wegova and Ozmpic Novo Nordisk or Mounjaro Eli Lilly.
The only oral agonist GLP-1 approved so far by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is Novo Nordisk Rybelsus, which treats type 2 and 2024 diabetes. He achieved sales of around $ 3.38 billion.
Source: CNBC
