Global Courant
The Amgen logo is displayed outside Amgen’s headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California on May 17, 2023.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Amgen is taking a new approach as it tries to stand out in a crowded field of drugmakers racing to develop the next blockbuster weight loss drug.
The biotech company is testing an injectable treatment that helps people lose weight in a different way than existing injections Novo Nordisk And Eli Lillyand other anti-obesity drugs in development. Amgen’s treatment, called MariTide, also appears to help patients maintain their weight after they stop taking it.
The drugmaker is also testing its drug that can be taken once a month or even less often, which could provide more convenience than the weekly drugs on the market.
It’s too early to say how competitive Amgen will be in the nascent weight-loss drug market, which Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have dominated so far. Some analysts expect the market could be worth $100 billion by the end of the decade, potentially leaving room for new competitors. Goldman Sachs too projects that by 2028, between 10 and 70 million Americans will use weight-loss medications.
The available data on Amgen’s injectable drug is promising, but it is a small, early-stage trial. The Thousand Oaks, California-based company is also developing an oral drug and other treatments for obesity, but has released few details.
Investors and health experts will likely get a better idea of Amgen’s prospects later this year: The drugmaker expects to release initial data from an ongoing mid-stage trial of MariTide, along with phase one data on the obesity pill.
It’s also unclear whether Amgen’s treatments will be cheaper than existing weight loss drugs, which cost about $1,000 per month.
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound are leading a new class of obesity treatments that have attracted relentless patient demand — and investor interest — despite their high price tags and limited insurance coverage.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have also struggled to offer enough supply of their treatments, which could give other companies a chance to gain market share.
How Amgen’s treatment is different
Amgen’s drug offers a new twist on weight loss
Like Wegovy and Zepbound, part of Amgen’s treatment activates a gut hormone receptor called GLP-1 to help regulate a person’s appetite.
But while Zepbound activates a second hormone receptor called GIP, Amgen’s drug blocks it. Wegovy doesn’t target GIP, which suppresses appetite like GLP-1 but can also improve the way the body breaks down sugar and fat.
Amgen’s decision to slow rather than boost GIP is based on genetic research that suggests blocking the receptor could help patients lose more body weight, company executives say.
Approved and experimental weight loss medications
Wegovy from Novo Nordisk: Approved weekly injection that activates GLP-1 Zepbound from Eli Lilly: Approved weekly injection that activates GLP-1 and GIPSaxenda from Novo Nordisk: Approved weekly injection that activates GLP-1 MariTide from Amgen: Experimental monthly injection that activates GLP- 1 activates and blocks GIPDanuglipron from Pfizer: Experimental once-daily pill that activates GLP-1VK2735 from Viking Therapeutics: Experimental weekly injection that activates GLP-1 and GIPPemvidutide from Altimmune: Experimental weekly injection that activates GLP-1 and another gut hormone called glucagonGSBR -1290 from Structure Therapeutics: Experimental weekly pill that activates GLP-1 Survodutide from Zealand Pharma, Boehringer Ingelheim: Experimental weekly injection that activates GLP-1 and glucagon
That seems to contradict the way Zepbound works. Eli Lilly’s approach has proven successful: the treatment helped obese patients lose up to 22.5% of their weight after 72 weeks in a late-stage study.
But Amgen’s MartiTide was also effective in a small, early-stage study
Patients given the highest dose of Amgen’s drug each month lost an average of 14.5% of their body weight in just 12 weeks, according to the phase one study published last month in the journal Nature Metabolism.
The drug can lead to longer-lasting weight loss
Amgen’s treatment may help people maintain weight loss better than competitors, even if patients take the treatment less often, early trial data shows.
The Amgen study included 110 patients with obesity but no diabetes. Patients in one group were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of the drug and followed for 150 days, while a second group received a dose every four weeks for three months.
An obese patient receives an injection of weight-loss medication.
Joe Buglewicz | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Patients who received one injection of the highest dose of MariTide lost up to 8.2% of their body weight after 92 days. That suggests that a single injection of the drug has a long-lasting weight loss effect, the study authors said
In the group that received multiple doses of the drug, patients appeared to maintain their maximum weight loss until about two months after their last dose. Their body weight then slowly began to return. Yet their weight was a whopping 11.2% lower five months after receiving the last dose
“We think that a meaningful weight loss is already 5%. If you take Amgen’s drug, lose 14.5%, stop taking the drug and still have 11.2% weight loss after a few months, that’s significant,” says Dr. Holly Lofton, director of the Weight Management Program at NYU Langone Health and an obesity medicine physician. But she pointed out the need to study the treatment in a larger group of people
The sustained weight loss in Amgen’s study appears to contrast with results from clinical trials of Zepbound and Wegovy. The patients in those studies saw their weight bounce back sooner after stopping the injections
Dose once a month or even less frequently
The frequency of Amgen’s drug also sets it apart. Those on Wegovy or Zepbound must take doses weekly, compared to the monthly MariTide.
Amgen’s study used monthly dosing in part because patients saw sustained weight loss regardless of whether they received a single injection or multiple injections of the company’s drug, the study authors said.
Amgen treatment can also last in the body much longer than current therapies such as Wegovy and Zepbound because it contains a monoclonal antibody, the authors added.
An injection pen containing Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug Zepbound is on display in New York City, U.S., December 11, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Amgen’s MariTide “has the advantage of lasting much longer. Even if you give a high dose, you’re still going to be exposed to drugs in the body for a month or two months, so that clearly shows that you’re not doing that.” There’s no need to take it every week,” William Blair & Company analyst Matt Phipps told CNBC.
Phipps said people typically don’t want to get injections often, so some patients might prefer a monthly injection like Amgen’s MariTide for a disease that will likely require chronic treatment.
But he noted that a patient’s choice may also depend on whether the level of weight loss and side effects of Amgen’s drug ultimately align with those of existing weekly injections.
Amgen’s ongoing phase two trial is investigating whether patients can take the drug even less often than once a month
Phase two trial will bring more clarity
Amgen’s longer-term phase two study in nearly 600 patients will provide more clarity on how competitive MariTide will be against Wegovy and Zepbound. The company is investigating which dose and schedule are best for patients. It expects to announce initial trial results later this year
Some analysts have said the phase two trial could help answer several questions, including how well patients tolerate the treatment
The 52-week study will test 11 different patient groups with different dosage levels and regimens. That includes starting some patients on a lower dose of a drug and gradually increasing it until they reach a higher target dose
That dose escalation could help reduce the side effects some patients experienced after taking their first dose of MariTide in the phase one study, according to Phipps.
In that study, the safety and side effects of Amgen’s drug were similar to those of other GLP-1 drugs. Nausea and vomiting were the most commonly reported side effects and usually lasted about 72 hours
Four of eight patients in a group given the highest dose of the treatment withdrew before receiving a second injection due to mild gastrointestinal problems, the study said. But no other patients stopped taking the drug because of side effects in any of the different dosage groups, Amgen Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said at a conference earlier this month.
“It’s a little early to conclude based on this phase one data that the drug will not be tolerated by patients,” Phipps said.
Another part of Amgen’s phase two study will also examine weight loss after 52 weeks, which will provide a clearer picture of how long the drug is effective.
