Investigate how sponsors are responding to rapid growth in obesity drug development, including strategies for manufacturing, supply chain optimization, dosing innovations, and combination therapies to meet market and patient needs.
In a recent video interview with Applied Clinical Trials, Heidi Chen, Associate Director of Research & Commercial Services at Citeline, discussed findings from the company’s
The below interview transcript was lightly edited for clarity.
ACT: Obesity entering the global top 10 for trial activity reflects the surge in GLP-1 research. How are sponsors adapting operations to keep pace with such high-demand therapeutic areas?
Chen: Yes, obesity is experiencing accelerated growth over the last couple of years. According to our sister product Evaluate, the obesity market is expected to reach $126 billion by 2030. We are already seeing blockbusters like Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Ozempic leading the renaissance in anti-obesity development.
What do sponsors have to do to keep up? Well, there's plenty. Not only do they have to scale up manufacturing so that the drug is accessible as widely as possible, but they also need to invest in ways to improve or streamline their supply chains, while continuing to negotiate reimbursements with payers. On the R&D front, they must keep innovation running and diversify strategies, such as new delivery or dosing technologies, exploring new targets, and developing new combinations, for example, with amylin agonists to target comorbidities and reduce GI-related side effects. Big players in this area, like Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and AstraZeneca, are already actively working with these approaches.
