Amgen announced on Wednesday that it has launched two important late-stage trials for its experimental weight loss injection, MariTide. This marks a significant step in the company’s effort to enter the rapidly growing obesity drug market.
“We are excited to announce the initiation of these trials, and the progression of the MARITIME program is going very well,” said Dr. Jay Bradner, Amgen’s executive vice president of research and development, during a TD Cowen conference, referring to the name of the drug’s phase three development program.
MariTide is a monthly injection, which investors hope will compete with existing weight loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, both of which are weekly injections. These drugs belong to a class called GLP-1s, which mimic hormones in the gut to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar.
A survey from the health policy organization KFF shows that about 6% of U.S. adults, or over 15 million people, were using a prescription for GLP-1s as of May. Some analysts predict the GLP-1 market could reach more than $150 billion annually by the early 2030s.
One of the new phase three trials will involve around 3,500 people with obesity or those who are overweight but do not have Type 2 diabetes. The second trial will focus on 999 patients who are obese or overweight and have Type 2 diabetes.
The primary goal of both studies is to measure the percentage of weight loss at 72 weeks. Amgen plans to test three different doses of MariTide, using a dose escalation approach, which starts patients at a lower dose and increases it over time. However, the company has not disclosed the specific dosing regimen for the trials.
In November, Amgen reported that MariTide helped patients with obesity lose up to 20% of their weight on average after a year in a phase two trial, without hitting a weight loss plateau. Patients with obesity and Type 2 diabetes also saw up to 17% weight loss after a year. However, these results were on the lower end of Wall Street’s expectations for the drug.
Amgen is set to present more data on MariTide later this year. Full results from the phase two trial will be shared at the American Diabetes Association conference in June. The company is also continuing to study patients in an extension of that trial, with results expected later this year.
MariTide offers a new approach to weight loss compared to existing drugs. It is a peptide antibody conjugate, meaning it links a monoclonal antibody to two peptides. These peptides activate GLP-1 receptors, while the antibody blocks receptors of another hormone called GIP.
This approach differs from Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, which activates both GIP and GLP-1. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy activates GLP-1 but does not target GIP, which may also influence how the body processes sugar and fat.
