Why it matters: Novo is paying for the prospect of a weekly obesity pill. Its own Wegovy pill, approved in the EU in July, and Eli Lilly’s Foundayo, approved in the U.K. in August, are taken daily, and Novo says weekly dosing “would substantially reduce dosing frequency and improve convenience compared with current offerings.”
By the numbers:
- Novo will pay $300 million (€264 million) upfront and up to $2.3 billion (€2.0 billion) in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, plus royalties on sales outside Greater China.
- Hengrui disclosed on Sept. 21 that cumulative R&D spending on the HRS-1596 project stood at about 18.4 million yuan (€2.4 million), an unaudited figure.
- Analysts cited by Reuters expect the weight-loss drug market to reach about $100 billion (€88 billion) in annual sales within a decade.
- Weekly U.S. prescriptions reached about 184,000 for the Wegovy pill and 53,000 for Foundayo this month, according to IQVIA data cited by Citi; both pills launched in the U.S. first.
Zoom in:
- Novo will get exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and sell HRS-1596 everywhere except mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
- HRS-1596 is designed to activate GLP-1 and GIP receptors, the same targets as Lilly’s injectable Mounjaro; the Wegovy and Foundayo pills activate the GLP-1 receptor alone.
- In the EU, the Wegovy pill is taken after at least eight hours of fasting, followed by a 30-minute wait before eating or drinking; Foundayo has no food or water restrictions. Neither company’s release says how HRS-1596 would be taken.
- The deal needs U.S. antitrust clearance, among other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The big picture: European drugmakers are paying for ways to dose obesity drugs less often.
- On Sept. 24, Novo licensed drug-coating technology from Sweden’s Nanexa to develop monthly and quarterly injections, in a deal worth up to €1.165 billion.
- Italy’s Menarini Group licensed European rights to bofanglutide, a GLP-1 injection taken every two weeks, from China’s Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals earlier this month.
Reality check: Weekly dosing is still unproven, while a daily GLP-1/GIP pill from Hengrui is further along.
- HRS-1596 has so far been tested only in animals, where Hengrui says it cut weight and improved blood-sugar measures. Its first human trial, a Phase 1 study cleared in China this month, will test safety and how the drug behaves in the body.
- A Novo spokesperson told Reuters the company plans global trials but would not give a timeline.
- U.S.-based Kailera Therapeutics, which licensed ribupatide from Hengrui in 2024, is developing a daily pill form that produced mean weight loss of up to 12.1% at 26 weeks, against 2.3% on placebo, in Hengrui’s Phase 2 trial in China. Kailera plans global Phase 3 trials in the first half of 2027.
Bottom line: Novo has committed $300 million upfront before human data establish whether HRS-1596 can support weekly dosing. The first clinical study should begin testing that proposition; whether the regimen can deliver meaningful weight loss remains a separate question.
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