Pfizer’s monthly obesity injection is showing promising results in a trial

Pfizer Its experimental obesity drug, acquired through Metsira, led to significant weight loss when taken once a month in a mid-stage trial, the company said on Thursday.

Obese or overweight patients lost up to 12.3% more weight compared to placebo at week 28 in the ongoing phase 2 study. Intravenous weight loss was up to 10.5% when all patients were analyzed regardless of discontinuations.

The company said that no stabilization was observed after patients transitioned to monthly dosing, indicating that weight loss is expected to continue as the study continues through week 64.

The data provide early evidence that the injection can be given less frequently than existing drugs without sacrificing effectiveness, which could be a big boost for Pfizer. It is trying to enter a market that it dominates Eli Lilly and Novo NordiskOur weekly injections, with a powerful new entry into the daily Novo pills.

Pfizer plans to move forward with 10 Phase 3 trials of the injection, called PF’3944, this year.

“These key findings… reinforce the potential of PF’3944 as a competitively effective monthly treatment,” Dr. Jim List, Pfizer’s chief internal medicine officer, said in a press release.

Pfizer reported the results on the same day it reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations.

The company’s injection is a long-acting GLP-1 drug, meaning it’s designed to remain active in the body longer than current treatments like Novo’s Wegovy. Pfizer is developing it as a weekly and once-monthly injection, in addition to other treatments that target different gut hormones.

In the trial, patients began with weekly injections of the drug before gradually switching to once-monthly doses.

The drug was generally well tolerated by patients, with most gastrointestinal side effects reported as mild or moderate. This is consistent with other GLP-1 drugs.

Pfizer said there were no new safety issues, and only a small number of patients stopped treatment because of side effects.

In a separate mid-stage trial last year, Mitsera said the highest dose of the injection showed weight loss of up to 14.1% on average after 28 weekly doses.