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Pfizer on Thursday said its experimental obesity drug, which it acquired through Metsera, drove solid weight loss when taken once a month in a mid-stage trial.
Patients with obesity or who are overweight lost up to 12.3% of their weight compared with placebo at week 28 in the ongoing phase two study. The injection’s weight loss was up to 10.5% when analyzing all patients regardless of discontinuations.
The data offer early evidence that the injection can be administered less frequently than existing drugs without sacrificing efficacy, which could be a major boost for Pfizer. It’s trying to enter a market dominated by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk‘s weekly injections, with a strong new entrant in Novo’s daily pill.
Pfizer plans to advance 10 phase three trials on the injection, called PF’3944, this year.
“These topline results … reinforce the potential of PF’3944 as a monthly treatment with competitive efficacy,” said Dr. Jim List, Pfizer’s chief internal medicine officer, in a release.
The trial randomized patients to gradually switch from weekly to monthly injections of Pfizer’s treatment. No plateau was observed after patients transitioned to monthly dosing, the company said.
