Kailera, Hengrui’s experimental pill shows 12.1% weight loss in mid-stage trial

Feb 10 (Reuters) – U.S.-based Kailera Therapeutics and its partner Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday their experimental oral obesity drug helped patients lose up to 12.1% body weight at 26 weeks in a mid-stage study in China.

China-based Hengrui’s trial was testing the once-daily drug, ribupatide, which belongs to the same GLP-1 class of treatments that include Eli Lilly’s experimental pill, orforglipron, and Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy. However, each drug uses a different approach to target GLP-1.

U.S. drugmakers have been increasingly looking to China to secure the rights to promising drug candidates at a lower cost and access important early data that could pave the way for global trials.

Besides the pill, the companies are also developing ribupatide as a once-weekly injectable version.

The 166-participant study showed those given 10-milligram dose of the drug saw an average weight loss of 6.9%, compared with placebo. The mean weight loss was 12.1% for those on the 25- and 50-mg doses.

Most side effects related to the drug such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation were mild to moderate, and none of the participants stopped treatment or reduced their dose, the companies said.

Kailera Therapeutics was launched in October 2024 with $400 million in early-stage funding and four obesity drug candidates licensed from Hengrui.

Lilly and Novo Nordisk currently dominate the obesity drug race, but the field is quickly crowding as new and established players rush to capture a market poised to hit $150 billion over the next decade.

Hengrui will test oral ribupatide in a late-stage obesity trial in China, while Kailera plans to start a global mid-stage trial this year. Injectable ribupatide is currently being evaluated in a global late-stage study.

A previous study in China showed an 8-mg injectable dose led to an average weight loss of 23.6% after 36 weeks of treatment, compared with placebo.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)