The news: AbbVie bought a ticket into the prescription weight loss market via a licensing deal with Danish biotech Gubra’s amylin hormone candidate, per the companies.
Why it matters: Gubra’s (now AbbVie’s) amylin is in early days as a phase 1 drug, but it’s already being explored by Big Pharma.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk lead the obesity market with GLP-1 drugs—both are also testing amylin. Amylin is expected to become both an alternative and complement to GLP-1 meds. It is also a gut hormone that suppresses appetite and increases satiety, but may also reduce gastrointestinal side effects and reduce muscle loss, per CNBC.