Zealand Pharma (CPH: ZEAL) shares rose after obesity pipeline progress and Roche-linked outlook boost

Zealand Pharma shares climbed after the company reported positive clinical progress across its obesity pipeline and strengthened its financial outlook with expected milestone payments from partner Roche.

The Danish biotech said Phase 2 results for obesity candidate petrelintide showed double-digit weight loss alongside a placebo-like tolerability profile, supporting plans to move the therapy into Phase 3 development in the second half of 2026.

Zealand also highlighted positive Phase 3 results for survodutide, its obesity therapy partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim, which demonstrated up to 16.6% weight loss in the SYNCHRONIZE-1 study.

The company said it expected approximately $700 million in milestone and anniversary payments from Roche during 2026, helping strengthen its cash position and support its long-term “Metabolic Frontier 2030” strategy.

Zealand additionally announced a $200 million share buyback programme and maintained guidance for net operating expenses despite increased investment into research and development.

The company ended the quarter with DKK 14.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, while projecting collaboration revenue of DKK 4.5 billion for 2026.

Investor sentiment was also supported by the growing focus on next-generation obesity therapies with improved tolerability profiles, as competition intensifies across the weight-loss drug market. Zealand said additional data from its obesity programmes would be presented later this year, alongside continued development across rare disease and inflammation assets.