In the incredibly hot obesity drug space, with more than 700 clinical trials ongoing, Verdiva Bio and MitoRx leaders discuss how next-generation therapies are targeting lean muscle preservation, extended efficacy and better safety profiles to enable lifelong weight management.

Original title: “Muscle Preservation, Tolerability and Alternative Administration Routes Define Obesity’s Drug Future”

Eli Lilly has long been gearing up for the launch of orforglipron, announcing as early as February 2024 that it was ramping up manufacturing investments for the weight-loss pill.

Original title: “Lilly Prepares $1B+ Orforglipron Stock Ahead of Approval as Novo Brings Wegovy Pill Overseas”

The trial lead sat in a high-stakes protocol review meeting, subtly tilting their laptop screen away from the digital transformation team. On the surface, the sponsor had just deployed a multi-million-dollar agentic AI workflow designed to automate requirement documentation and signal detection. Innovating Biothreat Therapies: An Interview with Head of GigaGen · Moe Alsumidaie · Johnson & Johnson’s Innovative Approach to Enhancing Diversity in Clinical Trials · Moe Alsumidaie · Navigating Complexities in Obesity Clinical Trials: Insights from Skye Bioscience · Moe Alsumidaie · How To Leverage eClinical Technology to Enhance Sponsor-Site Collaboration · Moe Alsumidaie · How to Navigate Rare Disease Clinical Trial Recruitment · Strategic Navigation for Clinical Trials in Mid-Size Biopharma: Insights from Almirall · Moe Alsumidaie · Navigating the Future of Endometriosis Diagnostics · Moe Alsumidaie · How Sangamo is Navigating the Future of Gene Therapy for Rare Diseases · Moe Alsumidaie · Redefining Clinical Imaging: How a Site-First Approach is Setting a New Standard for Transparency and Data Integrity ... Building Trust Through Transparency: Apellis Pharma’s Steph Viscomi on Lean TMF and Site Collaboration ... Veeva and OpenEvidence Form Strategic AI Partnership to Revolutionize Trial Access and Therapeutic Adoption Guided, Then Penalized: A Deep Dive into the FDA’s MDMA Ruling and What it Means for Psychedelic Clinical Trials ... How FDA’s Guidance on Decentralized Trials Applies to Community-based Research Execution and Compliance ... New Obesity Treatment Mechanisms: Dr.

Original title: “Why Big Pharma Clinical Trial Digital Transformation Initiatives Fail”

Whisper it, but we may finally be seeing the IPO window reopening in 2026. Whisper it, but we may finally be seeing the IPO window reopening in 2026. | Whisper it, but we may finally be seeing the IPO window reopening in 2026. Beyond oncology, orphan diseases and the red-hot diabetes and obesity spaces are also in demand, Lane added. Flagship-founded antibody biotech Generate is latest to mull IPO That interest subsided to an annual average of closer to 20 listings by U.S. biotechs until 2025—when the number of IPOs sunk to a nadir of just 11, according to data from Pitchbook. But the mood music seems to have changed in the early weeks of 2026, with a steady stream of biopharmas lining up to ring the Nasdaq bell. Aktis Oncology set the tone in the early days of January, raking in $318 million via an upsized offering that the company will use to fund early-phase clinical trials of its two lead radiopharmaceutical candidates. While most of the initial crop of IPOs have come from U.S. companies, Belgium’s Agomab Therapeutics scored a respectable $200 million IPO on the Nasdaq. The immunology biotech’s pipeline centers on a pair of ALK5 inhibitors licensed from Spain’s Origo Biopharma. Last week’s public listing was needed to “really access deep and biotech-focused capital” to support this pipeline, Agomab CEO Tim Knotnerus told Fierce. “In order to have sufficient funding from long-term investors [and] a broader investor base to fund both of these studies, plus earlier research work, we felt it's the right time to access the public markets,” Knotnerus said in an interview.

Original title: “'When the markets opened, we were ready': Why biotech IPOs are back for 2026”

The oral version of Wegovy has made GLP-1 medicines more accessible and acceptable to many patients who had steered clear of injectable versions, healthcare analytics firm Truveta suggests.

Original title: “Oral Wegovy Brings in Thousands of New GLP-1 Patients”

A lawsuit and FDA warning ensued after Hims & Hers launched a compounded version of Novo Nordisk’s new obesity pill, more Big Pharma report earnings—including from weight loss rivals Novo and Eli Lilly—and the gene therapy space sees another rejection.

Original title: “Weight Loss Drama Compounds on Heels of Novo, Lilly Earnings, Plus Gene Therapy News”

Biopharma’s obsession with the weight loss sector—projected to exceed $130 billion in revenue by 2035—shows no signs of slowing down as analysts gear up for a year that will test the oral market and provide key data on novel mechanisms.

Original title: “Obesity Space Abuzz With Oral, Amylin Assets as Momentum Rides Into 2026”

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been battling head-to-head in an exploding obesity market. They should never have been compared apples to apples.

Original title: “Novo Will Never Beat Lilly. Why Does It Have To?”

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly both think the Wegovy pill is doing well, but the American rival sees the successful launch as a harbinger of good news for its own candidate, orforglipron, which is expected to hit the market in the second quarter.

Original title: “Novo’s Wegovy Pill Success Is ‘Good News’ for Orforglipron, Lilly Execs Say”

Amgen believes that it can transcend the expected tradeoff between convenience and efficacy, anticipating that its investigational obesity drug MariTide will continue to provide competitive weight loss even at monthly or longer schedules.

Original title: “Amgen Wants MariTide To Change Obesity Paradigm With Longer Dosing Periods”

Instead of joining the increasingly crowded GLP-1 arena, GSK will focus its efforts downstream of obesity—a push currently anchored by its Phase III-ready FGF21 analog efimosfermin alfa for liver fibrosis.

Original title: “GSK Says No to GLP-1s, Prioritizes ‘Downstream Effects’ of Obesity”

large hiatal hernia in a patient with bulimia nervosa and obesity an interdisciplinary case report

Original title: “Large Hiatal Hernia in a Patient With Bulimia Nervosa and Obesity: An Interdisciplinary Case Report.”

Analysts parsed the limited data available for Pfizer’s obesity candidate on the pharma’s fourth-quarter earnings call Tuesday, looking for any nugget of additional context.

Original title: “Pfizer’s Early Metsera Data Leaves Analysts Wanting More”

A long-acting shot Pfizer got through a buyout of Metsera appeared “slightly inferior” to Lilly’s market-leading Zepbound in a Phase 2 trial, one analyst said.

Original title: “Pfizer dips on new data for obesity drug acquired in $10B deal”

With data from a mid-stage trial showing weight loss of up to 12.3% at 28 weeks in patients treated with PF’3944, "Pfizer is moving full speed into obesity clinical development,” BMO Capital Markets said Tuesday.

Original title: “Pfizer’s First Weight-Loss Data After Metsera Buy ‘Look Competitive’”

While CagriSema bested Novo Nordisk's Wegovy on blood sugar control in a late-stage trial, the next-gen weight loss drug still has not met the pharma's 25% weight loss goal.

Original title: “Novo’s Next-Gen Obesity Drug Beats Wegovy on Blood Sugar Control in Phase III”

CagriSema’s blood sugar and weight reductions exceeded the company’s blockbuster Wegovy, yet the drug might still struggle to rival Lilly's Zepbound.

Original title: “Novo combination obesity shot meets goal in diabetes trial”

The facility, which is part of Lilly’s $50 billion reshoring drive, will make obesity drugs such as tirzepatide and retatrutide when it starts operations in 2031.

Original title: “Eli Lilly Commits $3.5B To Build Injectable Obesity Drug Plant in PA”

The deal, which involves up to eight “next-generation” weight loss medications and could be worth more than $18 billion, ranks as the largest licensing pact of its kind since the start of 2025, according to BioPharma Dive data.

Original title: “AstraZeneca leans into obesity, striking wide-ranging alliance with China’s CSPC”

Original title: “Obesity and Overweight”