Roche partners with Zealand Pharma for $5.3 billion obesity drug

In March 2025, Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, announced a significant partnership with Zealand Pharma, a Danish biotech firm, aimed at the development of a potentially revolutionary obesity treatment. The deal is valued at up to $5.3 billion and focuses on co-developing an amylin analog known as petrelintide. This move comes as Roche seeks to build a competitive portfolio in the obesity drug market, directly challenging prominent players such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, who have established a strong hold on obesity treatments via GLP-1 agonists. The partnership signifies a strategic shift for Roche, which previously made headlines for its acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics in 2023, acquiring a GLP-1 treatment for combination therapies. However, this new deal reflects Roche's intent to diversify its approach by exploring amylin analogs, which differ from existing GLP-1 drugs that focus on appetite suppression. This could potentially address unmet patient needs, especially as Roche's leadership expressed an urgency to respond to changing dynamics within the obesity treatment landscape, marked by recent setbacks encountered by competitors. Analysts view the competitive process leading to this partnership as indicative of Roche's commitment to innovation in obesity treatment. Zealand Pharma's shares surged by 38% on the day of the announcement, reflecting market optimism around the deal, a sentiment echoed by BofA Global Research which characterized this as a best-case scenario for Zealand. Meanwhile, both companies have stated their resolve to expedite the drug's development, with Zealand indicating that the introduction of petrelintide could arrive sooner than their initial estimated target of 2030. The developments come amidst rising concerns within the industry, particularly surrounding Novo Nordisk's recent challenges with its amylin analog candidate CagriSema. Negative results from clinical trials prompted a reevaluation of their product pipeline, potentially paving the way for Roche and Zealand to capitalize on the opportunity to bring petrelintide to market. As the obesity drug race intensifies, Reich and Zealand seem poised to make significant strides in addressing what is considered a growing public health crisis worldwide.