& Co (MSD) has entered an exclusive global licence agreement with China-based Hansoh Pharma for a preclinical oral small molecule glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) as it eyes the lucrative weight loss market.
MSD will pay Hansoh an upfront payment of $112m to develop, manufacture and commercialise the candidate named HS-10535. Hansoh is also in line for up to $1.9bn in milestone payments, as well as royalties on sales. MSD will take on global duties of the drug while Hansoh may solely commercialise or co-promote the asset in China, as per an 18 December press release.
Hansoh鈥檚 asset is orally administered, with the Chinese biopharma one of many companies developing weight loss treatment in the form of pills to provide easier options for patients compared to subcutaneous injections. Both 鈥檚 Wegovy (semaglutide) and Eli Lilly鈥檚 Mounjaro (tirzepatide) are administered via injectable pens.
MSD鈥檚 move into the obesity arena is admittedly late in the day, with Eli Lilly鈥檚 oral GLP-1RA candidate orforglipron already producing . is also 鈥� danuglipron, which met its primary endpoint in a Phase IIb trial late last year.
Even though the candidate is currently at the preclinical stage, MSD is now at least in the race. The drugmaker joins an obesity market growing at an annual growth rate of 31.3%. Across the seven major markets, it is forecast to reach $37.1bn by 2031, according to GlobalData鈥檚 Pharma Intelligence Center.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
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By GlobalDataMSD is also betting on Hansoh鈥檚 candidate working in more indications than just obesity. The drugmaker already has a GLP-1RA/glucagon receptor co-agonist, efinopegdutide, in Phase II trials for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), but HS-10535 could provide wider coverage across more indications.
In a statement following the deal for HS-10535, MSD鈥檚 research laboratories president Dr Dean Y Li said the therapy has the 鈥減otential to provide additional cardiometabolic benefits beyond weight reduction鈥�.
The deal with Hansoh is the latest in a long line of money moves by MSD this year as it looks to enhance its portfolio amid blockbuster drug Keytruda鈥檚 (pembrolizumab) impending patent loss. Deals this year for MSD include a $1.9bn deal with fibroblast therapy company Mestag Therapeutics and a $1.3bn acquisition of EyeBio.
MSD is not the only company to tap China鈥檚 biopharma scene for a preclinical obesity asset 鈥� followed the same path in November 2023 in a deal worth up to $2.01bn with Eccogene.
