Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche is set to quicken the pace of its anti-obesity medication development in an effort to compete with market leaders such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, according to a Monday report by the Financial Times. Roche is joining an increasing number of companies aiming to rival Novo and Eli Lilly, whose weight-loss treatments have seen surging demand, prompting experts to raise their sales projections for these therapies to potentially reach $150 billion by the early 2030s.
Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker informed the Financial Times that their initial obesity medications are anticipated to hit the market "much sooner than anticipated," possibly as early as 2028. The company recently announced that its second experimental drug, a daily pill obtained through the acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics, showed promising outcomes in a preliminary trial. Schinecker revealed to the FT that Roche might have "approximately seven" drugs resulting from the Carmot deal, several of which are in the early stages of development. Roche has yet to provide a response to Reuters' request for comment.
