The axis of competition in the obesity drug market is shifting from efficacy to dosing convenience. Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk are expanding the market for oral drugs that emphasize ease of use, while in injectables they are focusing on developing long-acting formulations to extend the current "once-weekly" dosing to "once-monthly." Ultimately, how long and how stably the same drug can be delivered in the body has emerged as next-generation competitiveness.
According to the industry on the 18th, Lilly's ultimate goal in the obesity injection market is also to develop once-monthly formulations of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs that are currently dosed once weekly. To that end, Lilly is partnering with Korea's Peptron and Sweden's Camurus, each of which has long-acting drug delivery technology.
The market is watching which technology Lilly will ultimately choose. While it is conducting a technology assessment and joint research with Peptron, it has already signed a technology licensing deal with Camurus. The industry says the two companies' development results and commercialization capabilities will be key variables in Lilly's long-acting obesity drug strategy going forward.
◇ "technology validation" Peptron vs. "broader application" Camurus
Lilly's first partner of choice is Peptron, which owns the domestic long-acting drug delivery platform SmartDepot. The two companies signed a technology assessment agreement in Oct. 2024 and are conducting joint research.
SmartDepot is a technology that increases the uniformity of the microspheres that carry the drug to precisely control the release rate. Whereas persistence was previously achieved by extending the half-life—the time it takes for the drug level in the body to decrease by half—SmartDepot uses a delivery vehicle to release the drug steadily over a long period.
The joint research period was initially expected to end late last year, but a corrected disclosure later extended it until Oct. 7, 2026, at the latest.
Lilly is testing the feasibility of commercializing a once-monthly formulation by applying SmartDepot to its peptide-based compounds. With the extension of the joint research period, it is also said to be conducting joint research not only on GLP-1 drugs but also on GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) dual agonists and Peptron's obesity drug candidate PT404.
The industry is focusing on the possibility of a definitive licensing agreement within the year, given that Lilly has expanded the scope of its technology validation.
Camurus, by contrast, signed a technology licensing agreement with Lilly in June last year, ahead of Peptron. Camurus' FluidCrystal is a lipid-based drug delivery platform that slowly releases drugs in the body, enabling once-monthly dosing.
Lilly had initially been studying the application of this technology to GLP-1 drugs and recently secured additional rights to expand its use to amylin receptor agonists. As a result, the Camurus technology is increasingly likely to extend across Lilly's next-generation metabolic disease drug portfolio, including GLP-1/GIP dual agonists, GLP-1/GIP/glucagon (GCG) triple agonists, and amylin receptor agonists.
However, the market sees limited impact of this option exercise on Peptron's licensing prospects. Um Min-yong, an analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "Lilly has not yet begun clinical trials applying Camurus' technology," and analyzed that "it is highly likely the option was exercised to maintain exclusivity under the contract."
◇ "extensive commercialization experience" Camurus vs. "growth potential" Peptron
Observers say Lilly, which is validating Peptron's technology, moved straight to a licensing deal with Camurus because of its commercialization experience. Camurus' long-acting drug delivery platform is considered to have already been validated in the global market.
In fact, Camurus' addiction treatment Buvidal, which uses FluidCrystal, has been approved and is being sold in Europe and the United States. In the obesity drug field, the once-monthly semaglutide (Wegovy ingredient) formulation candidate CAM2056 is set to enter phase 2b trials in the second half of this year.
However, the acromegaly treatment Oclaiz recently failed again to win FDA approval, delaying its U.S. launch. This came after additional issues were identified during the current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) inspection of a contract manufacturing facility.
Peptron, by contrast, is drawing attention for its growth potential. Following domestic approval of the prostate cancer and precocious puberty treatment Loople, which uses SmartDepot, the company is pursuing overseas expansion and preparing global trials for PT403, a once-monthly long-acting obesity drug candidate.
According to preclinical results released at the American Diabetes Association (ADA), PT403 showed better weight-loss effects than existing once-weekly semaglutide formulations in an obese mouse model. The company noted in particular that in safety assessments conducted in adults, it significantly reduced gastrointestinal side effects typical of GLP-1 drugs, such as vomiting and nausea. PT403 has filed patents in about 20 countries and is targeting marketing approval in 2030.
Beyond obesity drugs, Peptron is using SmartDepot to develop treatments for rare diseases such as acromegaly and achondroplasia, while also pursuing projects to convert existing drugs from global pharmaceutical companies into once-monthly formulations. In particular, through construction of its second plant in Osong, North Chungcheong, the company is also moving to secure large-scale manufacturing capacity.
An official at a securities firm said, "The crux of Lilly's once-monthly obesity drug strategy is not finding a new drug but securing technology that can deliver existing drugs longer and more stably," adding, "Given that joint research with Peptron is well underway and the scope with Camurus is expanding, Lilly may strategically use both platforms in parallel rather than choosing one over the other."