Pfizer ends development of pill to treat obesity after injury reported during trial

FILE-Medicine pills are seen with Pfizer logo in the background in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Danuglipron, a weight-loss pill, won’t continue its stages of testing after a person in a clinical trial was reportedly injured. Pfizer plans to explore other obesity treatments for testing.

Pfizer is halting the development of its potential pill for treating obesity following an injury that happened during a clinical trial. Dig deeper: Danuglipron is a weight-loss pill that was in the initial stages of testing when a person in one of the trials experienced a possible drug-induced liver injury. The once-daily version of the drug was in the preliminary testing stages as researchers were attempting to determine the best dose for patients, a Pfizer spokesperson told the Associated Press.



RELATED: Pfizer to pay nearly $60M over kickbacks for migraine drug once promoted by Lady Gaga A Pfizer spokesperson told the AP that Pfizer will stop testing danuglipron in combination with other drugs to treat obesity. Pfizer said in 2023 that it would dump a twice-daily version of danuglipron that moved to the middle stages of testing after multiple patients in a clinical trial stopped using the pill. Pfizer released a statement obtained by the AP stating that the company still plans to create other obesity treatments in earlier stages of testing.

Big picture view: Obesity treatments are not only popular but lucrative for drug companies. Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zepbound raked in almost $5 billion in sales last year.

RELATED: Fake Wegovy and Ozempic warnings: What to know Other weight-loss drugs like Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy are injectable, and drug manufacturers are creating an easier-to-take pill version for patients who want to avoid needles and daily injections. The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which obtained a statement from Pfizer about danuglipron. This story was reported from Washington, D.

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