Pharmaceutical company Pfizer released trial results on Saturday revealing their experimental weight-loss medication designed for monthly injections produces side effects comparable to competitor Novo Nordisk’s weekly Wegovy treatment.
The pharmaceutical giant hopes their compound berobenatide will become the first monthly GLP-1 weight-loss medication available, helping distinguish it from popular treatments like Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.
Earlier this year in February, Pfizer announced the medication demonstrated weight reduction of up to 12.3% in non-diabetic patients during their mid-stage VESPER-3 clinical trial.
Industry experts are examining the drug’s adverse reaction patterns to determine its potential market success.
Company representatives reported that most trial participants experienced minimal or moderate side effects, with digestive issues primarily occurring during initial doses and shortly after injection administration. These findings were shared at the American Diabetes Association conference in New Orleans.
“Because of the very long half life here, you get a very smooth profile compared to weeklies,” Pfizer Chief Internal Medicine Officer Jim List said in an interview. “When you give it monthly … it’s very front-loaded. It does not persist through the month.”
List noted that researchers observed increased negative reactions when participants transitioned from weekly to monthly dosing during testing, prompting the company to plan more gradual dose increases in future late-stage studies.
Saturday’s data presentation revealed the average nausea occurrence across all VESPER-3 study groups was approximately 38%, while the average vomiting rate reached about 23.3%.
In May, JP Morgan analyst Chris Schott indicated that investors would be monitoring whether the medication’s vomiting rate stayed “20-25% or lower.”
Approximately 25% of participants taking Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy experienced vomiting in that company’s weight-loss study, while roughly 44% reported nausea symptoms.
This investigational medication represents the cornerstone of Pfizer’s obesity treatment approach following their $10 billion Metsera acquisition in the previous year. The purchase provided the pharmaceutical company with a fresh pipeline of metabolic treatments after being required to halt two of their own weight-loss drug candidates due to liver safety issues.
Pfizer believes monthly berobenatide dosing will set their drug apart from current weekly injection options, maintaining that less frequent administration could enhance patient compliance and appeal to different patient populations.
