Roche's obesity drug boosts blood sugar control, drives 15.5% weight loss in mid-stage trial

By Reuters News

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche ROPC.S said on Tuesday its experimental dual-acting obesity drug helped overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes lower blood sugar levels and lose an average 15.5% of their body weight in a mid-stage trial.

Roche is racing alongside large drugmakers, including AstraZeneca AZN.L and Amgen AMGN.O, to break into the lucrative obesity drug market and challenge leaders Eli Lilly LLY.N and Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO.


Here are more details:

  • Roche's experimental drug, enicepatide, is a once-weekly injection that mimics GLP-1 and GIP hormones to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar.

  • Patients who received 24 milligrams of enicepatide, the highest dose, saw significant reductions in levels of HbA1c at 48 weeks, meeting the two main goals of the study, Roche said. HbA1c is a measure of blood-glucose levels over time.

  • About 62% of patients achieved HbA1c levels below 5.7%, bringing their blood sugar levels into the non-diabetic range, the company said.

  • About 2% of patients ⁠in the 447-patient study taking enicepatide discontinued treatment due to side effects, compared with none in the placebo group, it added.

  • Most gastrointestinal side effects, which are common with the class of medications, were mild to moderate, the company said.

  • Roche is betting on next-generation treatments in a market expected to exceed $100 billion annually within the next decade.

  • In a mid-stage trial reported in June, enicepatide helped overweight or obese patients without diabetes lose 22.7% of their body weight.

  • Roche said it plans to start late-stage glycemic-control and cardiovascular outcomes studies in the first half of 2027.

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