The week in pharma: action, reaction and insight – week to June 30, 2023

By Barbara Obstoj-Cardwell. Editor

Research news last included Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim and Danish partner Zealand Pharma releasing weight loss results for their candidate survodutide (BI 456906) and US pharma giant Pfizer announcing it would drop development of lotiglipron as a potential treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes, instead focussing on danuglipron. Also of note, US biopharma Intercept Pharmaceuticals announced another setback for its obeticholic acid (OCA) in pre-cirrhotic liver fibrosis due to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), causing the company to give up on the drug in this indication. Eli Lilly revealed plans to acquire Sigilon Therapeutics, and its diabetes candidate SIG-002, for around $310 million, with a modest $34.6 million upfront. On the regulatory front, US biotech BioMarin gained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Roctavian, its gene therapy for severe hemophilia A.

Toxicity undermines Boehringer and Zealand’s incretin