Obesity data, Kymera and FDA sentiment survey results — a BioCentury podcast

Readouts from Lilly, Structure and Wave Life Sciences and a deal by Pfizer keep weight loss space in biotech spotlight

Obesity readouts continue to be hot for biotech with new top-line data from both injectable and oral therapies pushing the boundaries on efficacy. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts break down last week’s readouts from Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY), Structure Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GPCR) and Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE), and discuss a deal in the space by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). 

Lilly reported the latest for its triple agonist contender retatrutide for best-in-class weight loss, while strong Phase IIb data put Structure back in the oral GLP-1 race. Meanwhile, Pfizer added an oral GLP-1R agonist via a deal with a unit of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Shanghai:600196; HKEX-2196).

Structure and Wave parlayed their data into follow-on cash, as did Kymera Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:KYMR) after posting data for its STAT6 program KT-621 that hints at a new era for degraders in immunology. 

The analysts then detailed the results of BioCentury’s industry sentiment survey on FDA, which found that politicization of the agency’s leadership, volatility and uncertainty are casting a long shadow over investor and drug developer sentiment. Finally, they discuss the impact of the congressional stalemate over the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, a cornerstone of early-stage funding for biotechnology start-ups.