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Pfizer On Monday he said it would stop developing experimental obesity and diabetes pills, lotigliprondue to elevated liver enzymes in patients who took the drug once a day in the middle of the clinical phase.
Those Elevated enzymes It often indicates damage to cells in the liver, but the pharmaceutical giant said no patient had experienced liver-related symptoms or side effects.
Pfizer shares fell about 3.5% in premarket trading after the news.
Pfizer, based in New York, said it would instead focus on its other oral obesity drug, danoglipron, which is in fully registered phase II clinical trials.
That study found that body weight decreased after patients with type 2 diabetes took high doses of danuglipron twice daily for 16 weeks, according to Pfizer results released last month.
The company expects to complete plans for a Phase 3 clinical trial program for danuglipron by the end of 2023. Pfizer added that it is also developing a version of danuglipron that patients take once a day instead of twice.
“We look forward to analyzing danuglipron’s Phase 2 results and selecting the dose and titration schedule that will maximize therapeutic benefits, safety, and tolerability,” William Sessa, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer for internal medicine, said in a press release.
Lotiglipron, danuglipron, and Novo NordiskThe popular weight loss injections Ozempic and Wegovy are part of a class of medications called glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists.
They mimic a hormone produced in the gut called GLP-1, which sends signals to the brain when a person is full.
Medications can also help people manage type 2 diabetes because they stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas, which lowers blood sugar levels.
Oral medications such as danuglipron from Pfizer can offer an advantage over frequent injections. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly They are also developing their own experimental pills for obesity and diabetes.
The new class of obesity drugs is sparking public interest and causing the weight-loss industry to go gold. But there is still uncertainty about its accessibility, and there are still questions about how long patients need to take the drugs to shed unwanted weight.
Some people who stop taking medications complain of a return of weight that is difficult to control.
More than 2 out of 5 adults are obese, according to the National Institutes of Health. About 1 in 11 adults is obese.
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