AbbVie Enters Obesity Drug Race with $2.2B Amylin Deal

AbbVie has made a significant move into the competitive obesity drug market, signing a licensing agreement worth up to $2.2 billion with Danish company Gubra for a long-acting amylin analog. The deal marks AbbVie's late entry into a field dominated by pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

Deal Structure and Financial Terms

Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will pay Gubra an upfront sum of $350 million, with the potential for an additional $1.875 billion in development, commercial, and sales milestones. Gubra will also be eligible for tiered royalties on global net sales of the drug candidate, GUB014295.

GUB014295: A New Approach to Weight Loss

GUB014295, also known as GUBamy, is a once-weekly subcutaneous injection designed to act as a long-acting analog of the amylin hormone. Amylin agonists work by eliciting feelings of satiety, suppressing appetite, and slowing gastric emptying, potentially offering an alternative to the popular GLP-1 medications currently dominating the market.

Early clinical data from Gubra's phase 1 trial showed promising results. Healthy lean and overweight male subjects who received a single high dose of GUB014295 lost approximately 3% of their body weight over six weeks, compared to a 1% weight gain in the placebo group. A multiple-ascending dose study is currently underway, with interim results expected in April 2025.

The Competitive Landscape of Obesity Treatments

AbbVie's entry into the obesity drug market comes at a time of intense competition and rapid development in the field. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have established themselves as leaders with their GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound).

However, the focus is now shifting towards amylin-based therapies. Novo Nordisk is advancing CagriSema, a combination of semaglutide and the amylin drug cagrilintide, although recent Phase III data fell short of expectations. Eli Lilly is also pursuing amylin programs, with its mid-stage candidate eloralintide being tested in combination with tirzepatide.

Other pharmaceutical companies, including Zealand Pharma and AstraZeneca, are also developing their own amylin-based treatments, highlighting the growing interest in this approach to weight management.