9dreamstudio/iStock via Getty Images Shares of Zealand Pharma ( OTCPK:ZLDPF ) continued to gain in European trading on Friday after the Danish drug developer said its experimental anti-obesity therapy petrelintide generated compelling weight loss data in an early-stage trial. Posting topline data from the second part of a Phase 1b clinical trial, Zealand ( OTCPK:ZLDPF ) said Thursday that the once-weekly injectable could be a strong answer to currently approved GLP-1 receptor agonists used for weight loss. According to Zealand ( OTCPK:ZLDPF ), petrelintide led to an 8.
6% average weight loss over 16 weeks at a high dose, whereas those who received a placebo witnessed a 1.7% average weight loss. The single-center study included 48 healthy subjects with a median BMI of 29 kg/m who received 16 once-weekly doses of petrelintide or placebo across three dose groups.
As for safety, the experimental therapy was well tolerated, with only mild gastrointestinal adverse events except for two moderate events of nausea and vomiting, which forced one subject to discontinue the treatment. While the highly popular weight-loss drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide marketed by Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) and Eli Lilly ( LLY ) are designed to target the gut hormone GLP-1, petrelintide acts on the pancreatic hormone amylin, which is believed to mediate in the regulation of blood glucose levels. Zealand ( OTCPK:ZLDPF ) said it plans to start a Phase 2b clinical trial for petrelintide in people living with ove.
