From the 12th to the 15th (local time) in San Francisco, the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPMHC 2026) saw global big pharma companies unveil next-generation obesity treatment arsenals in rapid succession.
There is also an assessment that the global obesity drug market is moving beyond the duopoly of Denmark's Novo Nordisk and U.S.-based Eli Lilly and Company into a Warring States-era as latecomers launch full-scale offensives.
◇ Novo and Lilly face off over obesity drug strategies
On the 13th, the second day of the conference (local time), Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Company, the two powerhouses of the global obesity drug market, took the stage side by side in the main venue's Grand Ballroom.
Novo Nordisk's Wegovy (ingredient semaglutide) and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro (ingredient tirzepatide) are both drugs that mimic glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone secreted from the small intestine after meals, reducing appetite and slowing the rate at which food leaves the stomach to increase satiety and reduce weight. The advent of new obesity drugs has dramatically changed not only the paradigm of obesity treatment but also the landscape of the pharmaceutical industry.
Novo Nordisk, which released first that day, laid out a strategy to defend and expand its market position by pushing oral obesity drugs and high-dose Wegovy. CEO Majid Mike Doustdar of Novo Nordisk said, "Novo has been strongest when highly focused on the core areas of obesity and diabetes," adding, "Patients are the starting point of all research."
Instead of risking overexpansion into disease areas with weak direct ties to obesity and diabetes, the company plans to focus on the potential global demand for obesity drugs, which totals about 2 billion people. Doustdar said, "There was skepticism that oral absorption was impossible, but we proved the potential," and added, "Oral Wegovy shows a 16.6% weight-loss effect, similar to the injectable." The company also highlighted a lower trial discontinuation rate compared with competing drugs as a differentiator.
In the injectable market, Novo Nordisk plans to target stronger weight-loss demand by launching 7.2 mg high-dose Wegovy. Doustdar emphasized, "Semaglutide can deliver more than 20% weight loss at an appropriate dose and offers added value with cardiovascular and renal protective benefits."
Eli Lilly and Company, which released next, said it would cement its leadership in the obesity and diabetes drug market through expanded manufacturing capacity, oral drugs, and a next-generation obesity pipeline. CEO David Ricks of Lilly said, "Last year we secured the full phase 3 dataset for the oral GLP-1 receptor agonist orforglipron, and the triple-agonist incretin candidate retatrutide showed up to 29% weight loss in certain patient groups," adding, "Additional clinical results will be released sequentially."
Lilly projected that oral therapies will play an important role among patients who avoid injections and in emerging markets. The company also launched new phase 3 programs last year, including the highly selective amylin agonist eloralintide and the next-generation GLP-1 class drug brensnepatide, and is expanding development into new indications, including brain health.
There are 34 preclinical studies underway aimed at improving obesity treatment. The triple-agonist incretin candidate potatrutide secured data showing up to 29% weight reduction in early clinical studies, and the company also presented a $1 billion AI drug-development collaboration with Nvidia and a direct-to-consumer (DTC) online platform, "Lilly Direct," as a strategy to reach patients directly.
◇ Latecomers' obesity drug strategies: "dosing intervals and patient tailoring"
Amgen, Pfizer, Roche, AstraZeneca, and Viking Therapeutics also touted the competitiveness of their respective obesity drug candidates under development.
Both Amgen and Pfizer aim to become game changers by improving the limitations of existing therapies that require weekly injections.
Amgen put forward "maritide," dosed once every three months (quarterly). For patients who must get weekly injections, a once-per-quarter regimen is a bold alternative. Pfizer, meanwhile, accelerated trials of the once-monthly injectable "MET097," acquired through the purchase of Metsera, and set an early launch target of 2028. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla emphasized the growth potential of the obesity drug market, saying it could become a "Viagra"-level consumer market.
Viking Therapeutics proposed a hybrid model of losing weight with an injectable and maintaining it with a pill. Alongside an injectable that showed a 14.7% reduction in 13 weeks, the company is developing an oral drug for convenient at-home use to ensure continuity of care. The company is mainly studying a combined treatment approach in which patients lose weight with a powerful initial injectable and switch to pills to maintain weight after reaching the target.
Roche and AstraZeneca cited "segmentation" of the obesity treatment market as their future strategy.
Roche declared it would become a global top-three player in obesity treatments. The company is set to announce results from five phase 2 studies this year. Roche is developing "patient-tailored therapies" in anticipation of a highly segmented obesity market.
Teresa Graham, Roche's chief executive officer (CEO), who took the stage for the presentation, said, "We have data that spans patients who need substantial weight loss to those seeking a moderate reduction with high tolerability," and added, "We are developing regimens that can manage multiple comorbidities that accompany obesity at the same time."
AstraZeneca (AZ) said, "In five years, the obesity treatment market will be more segmented," and projected, "Patient demand will diverge not only by simple weight-loss figures but also by the impact on muscle preservation and kidney and heart disease." AZ aims to maximize clinical benefits through a combination of the oral obesity drug candidate "ECC5004" and dapagliflozin, an established diabetes treatment.
Celltrion, which also took the stage for corporate presentations at this event, mentioned CT-G32, an obesity drug candidate under development as a quadruple agonist. The company said it is aiming to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application in the second half of next year.