Zealand Pharma and OTR Therapeutics have signed a strategic collaboration and licence agreement aimed at jointly discovering and developing therapies for several targets in metabolic diseases.
The multi-programme partnership leverages Zealand Pharma’s experience in obesity and metabolic health alongside OTR Therapeutics’ research and development (R&D) platform to address the needs of people with metabolic diseases.
OTR Therapeutics will use its discovery platform to carry out research and preclinical development activities.
Zealand Pharma will take on the responsibility for clinical development, regulatory submissions and global commercialisation.
Zealand Pharma chief scientific officer Utpal Singh stated: "This partnership is an early testament - with more to follow - to the execution of our updated strategy to further strengthen and evolve our platform, broadening treatment options for people living with overweight, obesity and other metabolic diseases.
“We are confident the partnership with OTR Therapeutics will be highly productive in achieving our shared goal of expanding treatment options for people living with metabolic diseases.”
OTR Therapeutics will obtain an initial upfront payment of $20m, which could increase to $30m if certain predefined conditions are met.
The agreement also includes potential pre-specified preclinical, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments.
The total consideration for the collaboration could reach $2.5bn, with most of this amount linked to commercial milestones.
OTR Therapeutics will also be eligible for tiered single-digit royalties on global net sales of any commercialised products resulting from this partnership.
OTR Therapeutics CEO and founder Zhui Chen stated: “This collaboration represents a strong endorsement of our proprietary platform and strategic vision, and our proven ability to drive innovation and deliver quality and speed in execution.
“By combining our strengths in innovative drug discovery and development with Zealand Pharma’s deep expertise in the disease area, we are well-positioned to discover potentially transformative therapies for patients worldwide.”
In March 2025, Zealand Pharma selected Roche as its development and commercialisation partner for its lead obesity candidate, petrelintide, following a seven-month search.
