One of the two candidates for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus that Pfizer was developing — lotiglipron — has been discontinued after heightened levels of the enzyme transaminases were detected in participants of Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials.
Higher levels of this enzyme can be indicative of liver disease or liver damage brought on by drug use, though the company said there was no evidence of liver failure and none of the participants required treatment.
But Pfizer plans to continue developing its other candidate, danuglipron, as this issue was not detected among participants receiving it.
Danuglipron falls within the same class of drugs as Ozempic, which mimics the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). This hormone slows down how quickly food is digested, stimulates the release of insulin and increases feelings of satiety.
While oral treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes already exist, none have garnered the degree of interest that semaglutide, the drug used in Ozempic, has recently gained.
Public awareness of Ozempic has grown exponentially due to its off-label use for weight loss, its supposed popularity among celebrities and a recent shortage that impacted diabetes patients.
Wegovy, which is the same drug as Ozempic but in a higher dose, is indicated for weight loss in adults with BMIs higher than 30 or 27 in some cases.
As injectable drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy lack the ease of use that tablets have.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are racing to tap into the growing interest into drugs like Ozempic by creating a medicine that’s easier to take.
Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic, recently presented clinical trial results of its own oral form of semaglutide to treat type 2 diabetes. Eli Lily has also published data on its own GLP-1 drug specifically designed to treat obesity in adults.
