Roche declares war on obesity with billion-dollar takeover
Pharmaceutical company Roche is entering the fight against obesity with the $2.7 billion (CHF2.3 billion) takeover of United States firm Carmot Therapeutics.
Milestone payments of up to $400 million can also be made. According to Monday’s announcement, Carmot Therapeutics is privately held and has in its pipeline product candidates that can be used to treat obesity in patients with and without diabetes. They are all based on the novel GLP-1 mechanism of action, which has recently been the subject of a lot of media attention.
Recently, the drug Wegovy caused a stir. It is a product from the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. It contains the active ingredient semaglutide, which promotes weight loss in people who are very overweight.
Wegovy, for example, has to be injected under the skin once a week. In people with obesity without additional diabetes, Wegovy therapy can lead to a weight reduction of up to 15 percent over a treatment period of 18 months. In principle, Wegovy increases the feeling of satiety, which reduces the calories consumed because patients simply have less hunger and appetite.
Other products in this area include Ozempic, also from Novo Nordisk, or Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro, which also ensures weight loss.
With the takeover of Carmot, Roche is now adding three important GLP-1 product candidates to its portfolio. Two of the candidates will be tested to treat obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes, while the third will be used to treat type 1 diabetes patients who are overweight or obese.
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