AbbVie (ABBV) has entered the obesity treatment market by striking a licensing deal worth up to $2.2 billion with Danish biotech firm Gubra. The deal gives AbbVie rights to Gubra’s weight-loss drug, GUB014295, which is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial.
AbbVie will pay $350 million upfront, with the potential to pay up to $1.875 billion more as the drug progresses through development and commercialization stages.
The move positions AbbVie to compete with Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO), which have dominated the obesity drug market. This market serves nearly 40% of U.S. adults living with obesity. Last year, Goldman Sachs analysts projected the weight-loss drug market could reach $130 billion by 2030.
Gubra’s drug, also called GUBamy, works as an analog to amylin, a hormone that has shown promise in treating obesity. This differs from treatments like Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Lilly’s Zepbound, which target the hormone GLP-1.
AbbVie’s stock rose more than 1% on Monday, and its shares have increased nearly 20% since the start of the year.
