Novo Nordisk’s attempt to create a successor to its weight loss blockbuster Wegovy may have taken a hit with recent underwhelming data for CagriSema, but the Danish pharma has given itself another option thanks to a $2 billion deal with China’s United Laboratories.

The candidate at the center of the deal, dubbed UBT251, is a triple agonist for glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon. Wegovy already inhibits GLP-1, while Eli Lilly’s competitor Zepbound is an agonist of both GIP and GLP-1.

UBT251 goes a step further by also inhibiting the glucagon receptor. Eli Lilly has already got a GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon agonist into late-stage development in the form of retatrutide, which was tied to a 16% weight loss at 24 weeks in a phase 2 study in 2023.

Novo Nordisk has decided that it wants its own triple agonist, and is willing to hand over $200 million upfront to United Laboratories’ subsidiary United Biotechnology. In return for the global rights,

excluding Greater China, Novo Nordisk is also liable to pay up to $1.8 billion in milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties.

Novo Nordisk already has some data to back up its investment. A phase 1b trial of UBT251 by United Biotechnology, conducted among 36 patients with obesity or overweight, showed that the highest subcutaneous dose of 6 mg resulted in an average weight loss of 15.1% from baseline.

While trial-to-trial comparisons are difficult, Wegovy achieved a 14.9% average weight reduction in STEP-1, a 68-week clinical trial of nondiabetic patients with obesity or who are overweight and have at least one weight-related comorbidity. The early data from UBT251 suggests it may be as similarly fast-acting as another of Novo Nordisk’s obesity hopefuls, the oral GLP-1 and amylin receptor amycretin, which showed 13.1% weight loss after 12 weeks in a phase 1 trial a year ago.

“The addition of a candidate targeting glucagon, as well as GLP-1 and GIP, will add important optionality to our clinical pipeline, as we look to develop a broad portfolio of differentiated treatment options that cater to the diverse needs of people living with these highly prevalent diseases,” Martin Holst Lange, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for development at Novo Nordisk, said in the March 24 release.

“We look forward to building on United Biotechnology’s scientific work and further exploring the potential best-in-class properties of UBT251 across cardiometabolic disease indications,” he added.

United Biotechnology has already launched a phase 2 trial for UBT251 in China, which may give a better sense of whether Novo Nordisk’s latest obesity bet will pay off.

Novo Nordisk recently unveiled a restructuring of its early-stage R&D organization, although Chief Scientific Officer Marcus Schindler, Ph.D., insisted to Fierce at the time that this had not been prompted by the underwhelming weight loss data from the company’s next-gen obesity drug CagriSema.

丹⿆製藥公司Novo Nordisk近期在開發減重藥物Wegovy（semaglutide）的下⼀代產品上遭遇挑戰，其候選藥物CagriSema於臨床試驗中的表現不如預期。
然⽽，Novo Nordisk已透過與中國聯邦製藥（United Laboratories）達成20億美元的交易，為⾃⾝提供了新的選擇。
此次交易的核⼼藥物UBT251是⼀種三重受體致動劑（triple agonist），可同時作⽤於類升糖素胜肽-1（GLP-1）、胃抑制胜肽（GIP）及升糖素（glucagon）。
⽬前市售的Wegovy已為GLP-1受體致動劑，⽽Eli Lilly（禮來）的競爭藥物 Zepbound
（tirzepatide）則同時激活GIP與GLP-1受體。
UBT251更進⼀步，
除了影響GLP-1與GIP，還能抑制升糖素受體（glucagon receptor）。
事實上，Eli Lilly也已開發出⼀款GIP、GLP-1及升糖素三重受體致動劑retatrutide，
並於2023年第⼆期臨床試驗中，在24週內達到16%體重減輕。
Novo Nordisk收購UBT251的交易細節Novo Nordisk為獲得UBT251的全球開發權（不含⼤中華區），將⽀付：2億美元的預付款（⽀付給聯邦製藥⼦公司 United Biotechnology）。最⾼18億美元的⾥程碑款項（milestone payments）。
基於銷售額的階梯式權利⾦（tiered royalties）。
臨床數據⽀持UBT251減重潛⼒
Novo Nordisk此次投資的決策，部分來⾃United Biotechnology於中國進⾏的 1b期臨床試驗數據。該試驗納⼊36名肥胖或超重受試者，結果顯⽰，使⽤6 mg的UBT251最⾼⽪下注射劑量，可在12週內平均減重15.1%（相較基線體重）。
儘管不同試驗間的直接⽐較存在困難，但Novo Nordisk旗下Wegovy在STEP-1 試驗（針對無糖尿病的肥胖患者或伴隨代謝共病的超重患者）中，於68週內達到14.9%的平均體重減輕。此外，UBT251的減重速度可能與Novo Nordisk另⼀款GLP-1及澱粉樣蛋⽩（amylin）受體致動劑amycretin相當，後者於2024年進⾏的1期試驗中，在12週內達到13.1%的體重減輕。
Novo Nordisk⾼層評價Novo Nordisk開發執⾏副總裁Martin Holst Lange, M.D., Ph.D.在2025年3⽉24⽇的官⽅新聞稿中表⽰：
「UBT251具備同時作⽤於GLP-1、GIP與升糖素的特性，這將為我們的臨床管線提供更多選擇。我們希望能發展出多元化且差異化的減重與代謝疾病治療策略，以滿⾜龐⼤的市場需求。他進⼀步補充：「我們期待在United Biotechnology的科學基礎上進⼀步拓展，探索UBT251 在⼼⾎管與代謝性疾病（cardiometabolic diseases）領域的最佳潛⼒。

未來發展與競爭格局
⽬前，UBT251已在中國進⼊2期臨床試驗，其後續數據將進⼀步驗證該藥物的減重與代謝改善效果，並影響Novo Nordisk在全球市場的發展策略。另⼀⽅⾯，Novo Nordisk近期重組早期研發（R&D）部⾨，強化創新研發能⼒。
不過，NovoNordisk科學⻑Marcus Schindler, Ph.D.強調，這項調整與 CagriSema 近期令⼈失望的試驗數據無關。由於 肥胖治療市場競爭加劇，Novo Nordisk積極尋找下⼀代減重藥物，此次UBT251的收購，將進⼀步強化其在GLP-1類藥物領域的競爭優勢。

來源: Novo Nordisk pens $2B deal for triple G agonist tied to 15% weight loss at 12 weeks