(Jan 30): AstraZeneca plc agreed to pay Chinese company CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd as much as US$18.5 billion for its obesity drug candidates, as the British drugmaker tries to push into the growing weight-loss market.
The agreement will see AstraZeneca pay US$1.2 billion for eight such contenders, including four injectable therapies with the potential to treat obesity and other weight-related conditions, according to a statement Friday.
Chief executive officer Pascal Soriot has said Astra hopes to bring cheaper weight-loss medicines to market that are easier to take and help preserve muscle mass compared with the current offerings. It is also rapidly expanding its presence in China, where Soriot separately announced US$15 billion in investment through 2030 as part of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official visit this week.
Shares of AstraZeneca slipped as much as 1% in early trading in London. They surged by almost a third in 2025. CSPC’s stock slumped as much as 13% in Hong Kong, with analysts pointing to profit-taking after the deal announcement.
AstraZeneca will receive rights outside of China to CSPC’s most advanced experimental compound, SYH2082, which is poised to enter human trials and mimics both the GLP-1 and GIP gut hormones, the same ones as Eli Lilly & Co’s blockbuster Zepbound.
The deal also gives Astra access to CSPC’s long-acting peptide technology that could enable monthly dosing, one of the hottest targets as drugmakers compete for the next generation of weight-loss products. The Lilly and Novo Nordisk A/S shots that lead the obesity market now are both weekly.
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“What we’ve seen is over about a year adherence to injectable GLP-1s therapies is as low as 27% so even though patients are achieving the efficacy they want, there is a high level of discontinuation,” Sharon Barr, executive vice president and head of Astra’s biopharmaceuticals R&D, said in an interview.
For injectable peptides — which include existing drugs such as Novo’s Wegovy — “less frequent dosing will be a really important point of differentiation for people who are looking to maintain weight loss”, she said.
Less frequent and more convenient injections are a core objective for companies trying to break into the market. Among them are Amgen Inc, whose monthly shot called MariTide is in late-stage development, and Pfizer Inc, with a long-acting shot it acquired in its Metsera Inc deal last year.
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Astra earlier licensed an obesity pill from Chinese biotech Eccogene, and is also developing a drug targeting the hormone amylin and an injectable that targets both GLP-1 and glucagon, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels.
CSPC will be eligible for development and regulatory milestones of up to US$3.5 billion, and potential sales milestone payments of up to US$13.8 billion.
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