Pfizer has confirmed another push into the obesity market in the form of a licencing deal worth up to approximately $2bn with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical subsidiary YaoPharma.
The big pharma company has handed over $150m, which will grant Pfizer the exclusive licence to further develop, manufacture and commercialise YaoPharma’s obesity asset, YP05002, worldwide.
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China-based YaoPharma will be in line for up to $1.94bn if certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones are met, as well as tiered royalties on sales if the drug is approved.
YaoPharma will conduct a Phase I trial of the small molecule glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA), with Pfizer set to take control of the later development. Pfizer also plans to conduct combination studies of YP05002 with its glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) antagonist PF-07976016, which is currently in Phase II development.
Pfizer’s chief scientific officer and R&D president Dr Chris Boshoff, said: “We look forward to contributing our expertise and resources to continue the development of this investigational GLP-1 small molecule, which complements and strengthens our growing portfolio of novel candidates for treating obesity and its adjacent diseases.
“Cardiometabolic research is a strategic priority for Pfizer that has the potential to be a key driver of growth for our business.”
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By GlobalDataLucrative obesity market gaining deal traction
This comes just weeks after Pfizer was embroiled in a bidding war with Novo Nordisk to acquire New York-based obesity biotech Metsera.
Pfizer initially offered $4.9bn for the company; however, after Novo Nordisk submitted a higher, “unsolicited bid”, Pfizer increased its offer, which eventually closed at $10bn.
During the bidding war, Pfizer threatened both Novo Nordisk and Metsera with legal action, with Pfizer calling Novo Nordisk’s proposal “reckless and unprecedented” and pointed to a violation of US antitrust laws.
Pfizer’s fight shows it was keen to break into the lucrative obesity market, in which Metsera’s longer-lasting injectable and oral peptides could offer less frequent and easier dosing schedules than approved therapies.
Currently, the dominant figures in the obesity market are Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly with their GLP-1RA drugs, Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide), respectively. Both drugs are subcutaneously administered and have brough in billions for each company, with Lilly’s Zepbound generating $3.6bn in sales in Q3 2025 alone.
Novo Nordisk has lost some of its market dominance to Eli Lilly but is hoping to gain that back as it races to gain approval on its oral semaglutide in obesity. Lilly is not far behind, however, as it is also in the throes of submitting an application for its oral obesity asset, orforglipron, to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with the application expected to be submitted before the end of 2025.
It is no surprise that most big pharma companies are trying to find their way into the obesity market as according to GlobalData’s report ‘Obesity: Seven-Market Drug Forecast and Market Analysis – Update‘, it is set to be worth over $173.5bn in 2031 across the seven major markets (7MM: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US). This would be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.3% between 2021 to 2031.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
