July 7 (Reuters) – Kailera Therapeutics said on Tuesday its oral obesity and diabetes drug met the main goal of two late-stage trials conducted by its partner Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceutical in China.
U.S. drugmakers have been increasingly looking to China to secure the rights to promising drug candidates at a lower cost and access important early data that could pave the way for global trials.
In the obesity trial, the drug, HRS-7535, achieved a mean weight loss of up to 10.9% at week 44 and a mean weight loss of up to 11.1% at week 50.
The drug was also found to be non-inferior to AstraZeneca’s dapagliflozin across dose levels in the diabetes trial in terms of reducing HbA1c levels, a key marker of long-term blood sugar levels.
Over 2,000 participants have received the drug in clinical trials in China. Kailera said no liver safety signals were observed in both trials.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk currently dominate the obesity drug race, but the field is quickly crowding as new and established players rush to capture a market poised to hit $150 billion over the next decade.
Kailera Therapeutics was launched in October 2024 with $400 million in early-stage funding and four obesity drug candidates licensed from Hengrui.
In February, Kailera said the oral version of its lead drug, ribupatide, helped patients lose up to 12.1% body weight at 26 weeks in a mid-stage study in China.
Kailera is also advancing HRS-7535 in a global mid-stage clinical trial in overweight or obese adults. The trial started in April, with data expected next year.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Leroy Leo)
