D&D Pharmatech shares plunged after Pfizer halted development of an obesity drug candidate that used D&D Pharmatech(347850)'s oral peptide platform "ORALINK." D&D Pharmatech said the decision was due to a shift in Pfizer's development strategy, not a problem with the platform technology.
Pfizer said on the 4th (local time) in its second-quarter 2026 earnings materials that it halted clinical trials of the oral obesity drug candidate "MET-224o."
MET-224o is an oral GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) obesity drug candidate developed by D&D Pharmatech using the ORALINK platform.
D&D Pharmatech transferred six oral obesity drug candidates, including MET-224o, to Metsera across 2023 and 2024 in deals totaling $803.5 million (about 1.12 trillion won). MET-224o was considered the key pipeline among them.
Pfizer later acquired Metsera in Nov. last year and took over follow-up development of MET-224o. Through phase 1, the candidate had raised expectations as the first ORALINK platform-based candidate likely to show human efficacy data such as weight loss.
After news of Pfizer's halt, D&D Pharmatech shares fell about 21.6% from the previous day in the morning session. The market saw the decision as raising concerns about the competitiveness of the ORALINK platform.
In response, D&D Pharmatech issued a statement to investors the same day, saying, "This halt is due to a change in the partner's development direction, not an issue with the ORALINK technology."
The company said, "Since Metsera was acquired by Pfizer in the fourth quarter of 2025, there appears to have been a change in its obesity drug development strategy," adding, "As a latecomer in the obesity market, it is focusing on developing products that can be differentiated from existing approved therapies."
In particular, after the Metsera acquisition, Pfizer has been rapidly advancing development of a once-monthly injection and, in oral peptides, expanding efforts beyond single GLP-1 agents to multi-agonists such as dual agonists that can enhance weight-loss effects.
D&D Pharmatech also said the MET-224o halt aligns with the existing development strategy. The company said, "There were two oral products co-developed with Metsera that entered clinical trials, and it had been disclosed even before the Metsera acquisition that only one would move forward after early-stage trials," adding, "The halted program reflects our partner's strategic decision to focus resources on a differentiated next-generation obesity therapy."
It added, "Given that Pfizer said it will continue developing peptide-based oral GLP-1 products, this indicates an adjustment toward more competitive candidates," and "If there had been a technical problem, it would not have continued with follow-on products based on the same technology."
D&D Pharmatech said its collaboration with Pfizer is continuing. The company said, "We are actively cooperating to align with the new partner's strategy after the acquisition, and joint research at the discovery stage is also proceeding actively," adding, "We will continue our role as a partner developing next-generation obesity therapies differentiated from existing competitors."