Structure expects pills to capture up to 50% of GLP-1 obesity market by 2030

By Maggie Fick, Sabrina Valle and Puyaan Singh

Jan 14 (Reuters) – Structure Therapeutics’ CEO expects oral weight-loss pills to capture as much as half of the GLP-1 market by 2030, driven partly by pent-up demand from patients and doctors.

Structure estimates a market of between one and three billion obese and overweight people worldwide for oral weight-loss drugs, CEO Raymond Stevens told Reuters on Wednesday.

Stevens said the GLP-1 market has so far been driven by endocrinologists and obesity medicine specialists prescribing the drugs, which are made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

“Now, all of a sudden, this is getting into the primary care physicians, your general practitioner … that’s where we’re really going to see the most growth occurring,” Stevens said, adding primary care doctors generally prefer prescribing oral medicines over injections.

The company is looking for a strategic partner that has strong relations with primary care physicians, Stevens said, adding “because at the end of the day, that’s how you win.”

“There are a lot of companies that are looking in the space … They’re going to do multiple deals in the space,” Stevens said, as drugmakers seek to tap into the potential $150 billion weight-loss drug market.

Last November, Pfizer acquired Metsera for $10 billion, gaining a foothold in the fast-growing market following a fierce bidding war with Novo Nordisk.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru, Sabrina Valle and Maggie Fick in San Francisco; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)