Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced on Monday that it is expediting the development of its weight loss drugs following promising early-stage trial results. The company’s two obesity drug candidates are advancing to the next phase of clinical trials, potentially offering a pill-based alternative to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound injections within the next few years.
“We are accelerating the clinical development of our obesity portfolio to deliver these medications to patients sooner than anticipated,” a Roche spokesperson informed CNBC via email. While the company did not specify an updated timeline, Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker suggested in a recent Financial Times interview that the first of these drugs could reach the market “significantly faster than people are expecting,” possibly by 2028.
Previously, Roche Pharmaceuticals CEO Teresa Graham had projected that these products would be market-ready by 2030. However, the recent progress suggests a more accelerated timeline.
Roche’s CT-388 drug is now entering phase two trials after May’s results showed that it helped obese patients lose 18.8% of their body weight after 24 weeks, compared to those on a placebo. Another drug, CT-996, is set to enter phase two trials next year, following promising results from earlier this month, where it achieved a placebo-adjusted average weight loss of 6.1% within four weeks in obese patients without Type 2 diabetes.
Both CT-388 and CT-996 were acquired through Roche’s purchase of U.S. biotech company Carmot Therapeutics, completed in January. These promising developments position Roche as a strong competitor in the obesity drug market, potentially rivaling industry leaders Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Schinecker highlighted that Roche’s portfolio includes multiple innovative treatments, such as GYM329, which counters muscle loss, a common side effect of weight loss.
Read More: Click Here
