Two Pharma Giants Just Crashed the Obesity Party on the Same Day

William Blair analysts called the roughly 10% weight loss at week 12 "competitive across the amylin class," while noting the results could look even better in a more typical obesity population with higher BMIs and more women. AbbVie paid $350 million to license ABBV-295 from Danish biotech Gubra back in March 2025, and plans to advance the drug into Phase 2 later this year.

On safety, the drug was well-tolerated. No serious adverse events popped up. The most common complaints were mild GI symptoms, primarily in the first six weeks, which then faded. Compare that to the nausea rollercoaster many patients endure on GLP-1s, and you can see why AbbVie thinks this approach has legs.

Regeneron's Bigger Swing

Meanwhile, Regeneron showed up with a Phase 3 win, which is a much later and more definitive stage of testing. Their candidate, olatorepatide, is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist (it activates two appetite-related hormones at once, similar to Lilly's blockbuster Zepbound). Regeneron licensed it from China's Hansoh Pharmaceutical for $80 million upfront last June.

The numbers were strong. In a trial of over 600 adults with obesity across 33 clinics in China, the highest dose (15 mg) delivered mean weight loss of 19.3% at 48 weeks. Up to 97% of patients on the drug hit at least 5% weight loss, which is the threshold regulators typically consider clinically meaningful.

For context, Lilly's Zepbound showed 17.5% weight loss in a China-specific trial (SURMOUNT-CN) at week 52. Regeneron's results at 48 weeks look competitive by comparison.

The Tolerability Edge

The real story with olatorepatide might be what patients didn't experience. Nausea hit fewer than 10% of patients, and vomiting occurred in under 5%. Compare that to Zepbound, where 25-29% of patients reported nausea and 8-13% dealt with vomiting. That's a massive gap.

Why does this matter so much? Because side effects drive people to quit. If you feel like you're on a permanent boat ride, you stop taking the drug. Better tolerability means better adherence, which means better real-world outcomes (and more refills, if you're thinking like a pharma CFO).

Truist analysts said the results position Regeneron as "gaining a seat at the table" in obesity. The company plans to kick off a global Phase 3 registrational program in 2026, including monotherapy studies and a creative coformulation with Praluent (Regeneron's cholesterol drug) for patients who have both obesity and high lipid levels.

The Bigger Picture: Why the Obesity Race Keeps Getting Wilder

The GLP-1 weight-loss market is projected to grow enormously over the next decade. That kind of money attracts competition the way a cookout attracts neighbors.

But here's the strategic subtext behind both of these data drops: differentiation is everything now. Novo Nordisk and Lilly own the GLP-1 throne. Trying to out-GLP-1 them is like trying to out-search Google; you're better off finding a different angle.

AbbVie is betting that amylin analogs can complement (or even replace) GLP-1s for some patients. Regeneron is betting that a GLP-1/GIP agonist with dramatically better tolerability can steal share from Zepbound. Both strategies make sense because the current leaders have real vulnerabilities: harsh side effects, muscle loss concerns, and the inconvenience of weekly injections.

2026 is also shaping up as "the year of oral obesity drugs." Lilly's orforglipron (a pill version of a GLP-1 agonist) already has its NDA under FDA review, with a target action date of April 10, 2026. Novo Nordisk launched oral semaglutide in late 2025. Viking Therapeutics is pushing an oral dual agonist through trials. Pfizer just bought Metsera for up to $10 billion (approximately $7 billion upfront) to grab its pipeline of obesity drug candidates, including injectable and oral GLP-1 assets.

The takeaway from March 9? Two major pharma companies just proved they belong in this conversation. AbbVie is earlier, with a novel mechanism that could become a powerful combination partner. Regeneron is further along, with Phase 3 data that rivals the current king of weight loss on efficacy while crushing it on tolerability.

The obesity drug market isn't a two-horse race anymore. It's turning into the Kentucky Derby. And we're still in the early furlongs.

The Government Wants to Turn Your Body Into a Dashboard

ARPA-H just launched the Delphi program to build tiny, Lego-like biosensor "chiplets" that track hormones, inflammation, and medication levels in real time. It could be the biggest leap from Fitbit-grade wellness tracking to actual clinical diagnostics, and researchers have until April 8 to pitch.