Zealand Pharma (ZELA) has partnered with US biotech Generate Biomedicines (GENB) to develop protein-based treatments for obesity and other metabolic diseases using artificial intelligence, in a deal worth up to $1.2bn.
Generate will receive $30mn upfront and up to $35mn in early preclinical milestones. It is eligible for total milestone payments of nearly $1.2bn, the companies said. Generate’s shares rose about 5 per cent in extended trading.
The agreement comes as drugmakers race to develop obesity treatments that go beyond the blockbuster GLP-1 weight-loss drugs sold by Novo Nordisk (NOVO.B) and Eli Lilly (LLY). The success of those medicines has fueled investment across the obesity market, with companies testing new approaches aimed at improving effectiveness, convenience or side-effect profiles.
Generate, a Flagship Pioneering-backed company that went public earlier this year, uses AI-driven technology to develop protein-based medicines. Under the deal, it will lead research through candidate selection, while Zealand will handle clinical development, regulatory submissions and worldwide commercialization.
The collaboration will focus on multispecific protein therapies, which are designed to act on more than one biological target at a time. Zealand said such treatments could address several disease pathways linked to obesity within a single medicine, an approach drugmakers are increasingly exploring as they seek more effective therapies.
Zealand has traditionally focused on peptide-based medicines. It is jointly developing the obesity drug petrelintide with Roche (RHHBY) under an agreement worth up to $5.3bn, signed last year.
Earlier this month, Zealand reported positive mid-stage trial results showing the treatment helped overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes lose up to 9.2 per cent of their body weight.