With GLP-1 drugs taking the pharma world by storm, Roche is attempting to push forward the drugs it acquired in its Carmot Therapeutics acquisition last year a little bit faster.
The bid to accelerate the Carmot drugs’ development is buoyed by Roche’s confidence that they can be superior to other weight loss drugs already on the market, such as Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). And perhaps looking to capitalize on the positive momentum, Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker also said his company could still be looking at other M&A moves in obesity.
Thomas Schinecker“I can’t comment on anything that we’re looking at currently,” Schinecker said on Thursday’s earnings call. “In terms of the kind of deals, I think what we did last year [with Carmot] could be something that you could imagine also for this year.”
Although Roche executives expressed optimism for both Carmot programs, it was the oral GLP-1, CT-996, in which analysts took a particular interest after Roche revealed its plans earlier Thursday. The $2.7 billion buyout of Carmot last December has already proven fruitful, reading out multiple trial successes earlier this month for both the oral and injectable GLP-1s.
“Based on the data that we’ve seen, we do believe it has best-in-disease potential, and that’s why we are accelerating that program,” Schinecker said, referring to CT-996.
While Roche executives played up the drug’s promise, they were happy to leave some details to the imagination, teasing another investor event in September where future trial designs would be revealed and how exactly CT-996 differs from other oral GLP-1 drugs.
Roche’s move also comes amid a second wave of obesity and weight loss drugs from companies like AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Viking Therapeutics, as well as additional compounds from Novo and Lilly. The space has already made billions for Novo and Lilly, though the drugs have faced shortages.
Manufacturing edge?
Roche is confident it can scale up production for CT-996 because it is a small molecule, making it easier to manufacture than competitors on the market, Schinecker said.
“What that means is we can use our existing manufacturing network. And what it also means is we can ramp up manufacturing much more than companies who have peptides. So there is a clear differentiation in terms of that as well,” Schinecker said during a media call Thursday morning. “This is one of the programs that we’re accelerating significantly.”
While GLP-1 drug rivals have recently touted clinical data and administration advantages of their respective assets versus market leaders Novo and Lilly, how quickly a company can scale up manufacturing is an often overlooked element to the obesity drug race.
Lilly’s tirzepatide and Novo’s semaglutide are injectable GLP-1 drugs that are peptide-based. Oral small molecule candidates still in the clinic include Pfizer’s danuglipron, Lilly’s orforglipron and Structure Therapeutics’ GSBR-1290, as well as AstraZeneca and Eccogene’s AZD5004, which are all under investigation for weight loss.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct a transcription error in a quote from Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker. Referring to CT-996, Schinecker said Roche is “accelerating” the program, not “celebrating” it.