Pfizer ends development of pill to treat obesity after injury reported during trial
FILE-Medicine pills are seen with Pfizer logo in the background in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Pfizer is halting the development of its potential pill for treating obesity following an injury that happened during a clinical trial.
What is danuglipron?
Dig deeper:
Danuglipron is a weight-loss pill that was in the initial stages of testing when a person in one of the trials experienced a possible drug-induced liver injury.
The once-daily version of the drug was in the preliminary testing stages as researchers were attempting to determine the best dose for patients, a Pfizer spokesperson told the Associated Press.
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A Pfizer spokesperson told the AP that Pfizer will stop testing danuglipron in combination with other drugs to treat obesity.
Pfizer said in 2023 that it would dump a twice-daily version of danuglipron that moved to the middle stages of testing after multiple patients in a clinical trial stopped using the pill.
Pfizer released a statement obtained by the AP stating that the company still plans to create other obesity treatments in earlier stages of testing.
Popularity of obesity treatments
Big picture view:
Obesity treatments are not only popular but lucrative for drug companies. Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zepbound raked in almost $5 billion in sales last year.
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Other weight-loss drugs like Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy are injectable, and drug manufacturers are creating an easier-to-take pill version for patients who want to avoid needles and daily injections.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which obtained a statement from Pfizer about danuglipron. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.