Carmot Therapeutics

Oct 31, 2024

© Getty Images Metsera was publicly launched in April this year when it announced a $290 million investment round led by ARCH Venture Partners and joined by several other well-known life sciences investors. The company’s vice president of research and development, Stephen Bloom, was among the first scientists to publish research on the link between GLP-1 and appetite. The company has a pipeline of peptide and peptide-antibody conjugate drugs for weight loss as well as other indications. All drug candidates in the pipeline are based on GLP-1 agonists, and the most advanced is currently being tested in phase 1 clinical trials. Structure Therapeutics​ Founded:​ 2019 Structure Therapeutics is a global biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of novel oral therapeutics to treat a wide range of chronic diseases. The company’s goal is to develop small molecule drugs with superior performance to biologics and peptides. Since its foundation, Structure Therapeutics has raised a total of $182 million. The lead candidate in Structure Therapeutics’ pipeline is GSBR-1290, a small molecule drug that targets the GLP-1 receptor. The drug candidate is currently being evaluated in phase 2 trials as a treatment for obesity as well as cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Eccogene​ Founded:​ 2018 Eccogene is a company developing innovative therapeutic solutions for metabolic and immune-related diseases. In November last year, the © Getty Images company struck a deal with AstraZeneca worth up to $1.8 billion that granted the big pharma an exclusive license to develop and commercialize its GLP-1 candidate outside of China Eccogene’s ECC 5004, is an oral small molecule drug that targets the GLP-1 receptor. Earlier this month, the company dosed the first patient in a phase 2b clinical trial evaluating the candidate for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes, which triggered a $60 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca. Viking Therapeutics​ Founded:​ 2012 Viking Therapeutics develops novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, with three compounds currently being tested in clinical trials. In February this year, the company raised $550 million in a public offering following positive preliminary results from a clinical trial with its lead weight loss drug candidate. VK27355, the company’s lead candidate, is a dual agonist of GLP-1 receptor and the gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptor. The drug candidate recently completed a phase 2 trial evaluating its effects when delivered subcutaneously. Viking Therapeutics will soon start a phase 2 study with an oral formulation of the same drug, and will meet with the FDA before the end of the year to start planning a phase 3 trial. Carmot Therapeutics​ © Getty Images Carmot Therapeutics was founded by scientist Stig K. Hansen with the goal of commercializing research on chemotype evolution he conducted at UC Berkeley. In December 2023, Roche acquired the company for $2.7 billion, gaining ownership of three clinical-stage GLP1 drugs, CT-388, CT-996 and CT-868, which are being evaluated as treatments for obesity and diabetes. In July this year, Roche reported positive preliminary data from a phase 1 study of CT-996, a once-daily oral GLP-1 agonist for weight loss. The results showed one of the highest rates of weight loss achieved by any oral drugs currently in development. Zealand Pharma​ Founded:​ 1998 Zealand Pharma is a Danish company focusing on the development of next-generation therapeutic peptides, with two candidates in its pipeline that target the GLP-1 receptor. In June this year, the company raised over $1 billion in a share offering, soon after reporting positive clinical results in obesity. Zealand’s most advanced candidate is survodutide, a once-weekly dual agonist of the glucagon and GLP-1 receptors that is licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim and currently in phase 3 trials. Meanwhile, dapiglutide, a dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GLP-1 receptors, has shown preliminary efficacy in phase 2a. A third candidate, petrelintide, is being tested in phase 2 as a weight loss treatment that targets the amylin receptor instead of GLP1. Altimmune​ © Getty Images Altimmune is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of peptide-based therapeutics for obesity and liver disease. In 2020, the company raised $115 million in a public offering to support the development of its pipeline, which back then also included an intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 that was later discontinued. Altimmune’s lead candidate drug, pemvidutide, is a dual agonist that targets both the GLP-1 and glucagon receptors. The drug candidate has recently successfully completed a phase 2 clinical trial as a treatment for obesity, and the company will meet with the FDA next month to discuss next steps for a phase 3 study. Amgen​ Founded: ​1980 Amgen was one of the first biotechnology companies back when it was formed over 40 years ago. Today, it is one of the largest independent biotechnology companies in the world, with a vast development pipeline across multiple areas such as oncology, inflammation, cardiometabolic and rare disease. Amgen is developing an injectable treatment for weight loss, MariTide (maridebart cafraglutide), that is currently in phase 2 trials for the treatment of obesity and diabetes. The drug candidate is an antibody-peptide conjugate that combines a GIP receptor antagonist and a GLP-1 receptor agonist. An early-stage obesity study showed that a single shot of MariTide was able to maintain its weight loss effects for three months, which, if confirmed in later clinical trials, could give the candidate a big advantage over drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound. Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals​