Pfizer drops two more obesity drugs and narrows its pipeline to berobenatide
The cuts leave Pfizer, which does not sell an obesity drug today, with one oral GLP-1 candidate and a once-monthly injectable that is still in Phase 3 testing.
Pfizer removed two clinical-stage obesity programs from its pipeline on Aug. 4, 2026, cutting an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist it picked up in the $10 billion acquisition of Metsera and a Phase 2 GIP receptor antagonist [1].
MET-224o, also called PF-08656796, was an oral, fully biased, ultra-long-acting GLP-1 drug in Phase 1 testing for chronic weight management [1]. It was one of Metsera's two lead oral candidates. The other, MET-097o — an oral formulation of Metsera's injectable GLP-1 prospect MET-097i — had already disappeared from Pfizer's research pipeline at the company's first quarterly update after the deal closed [1].
The second cut, PF-07976016, was a GIP receptor antagonist in Phase 2. Pfizer had said last December that it planned to test the drug in combination with YP05002, an oral small-molecule GLP-1 it licensed from China's YaoPharma for $150 million upfront [1].
"After reviewing phase 2a data for our GIPR antagonist on background of liraglutide, Pfizer has decided to discontinue development of the molecule, though we continue to explore approaches targeting the GIP receptor," a Pfizer spokesperson told Fierce Biotech [1].
With MET-224o gone, Pfizer has one oral GLP-1 left in the pipeline: PF-08642534, its name for YP05002 [1]. The company told Fierce it remains "committed to exploring oral peptide and small molecule approaches for agonism of the GLP-1 receptor" [1].
Pfizer's obesity work now centers on berobenatide, an injectable in Phase 3 testing. On Pfizer's second-quarter earnings call the same morning, chief scientific officer Chris Boshoff shared an analysis that "suggests berobenatide can deliver weight loss comparable to tirzepatide and potentially better than semaglutide" [1]. Combined with data from the extension arm of berobenatide's Phase 2b Vesper-1 trial, Boshoff said the company is increasingly confident the drug "can potentially deliver robust efficacy and favorable gastrointestinal tolerability with the convenience of a monthly therapy" [1]. The full analysis behind the tirzepatide and semaglutide comparison has not been reported, and no head-to-head trial of berobenatide against either drug has been reported.
Pfizer also dropped two programs outside obesity. PF-07258669, an MC4R antagonist for malnutrition, had already had its Phase 1 study cut short earlier this year for business reasons. PF-07985631 was in Phase 1 for nephropathy [1].
The pipeline cuts arrived alongside Pfizer's quarterly results and a new round of cost reductions. The company added $2.5 billion in planned savings for 2027 through 2029, bringing total expected net savings from its restructuring efforts to $9.7 billion through 2029 [1]. Revenue in the quarter ended June rose 3% from a year earlier to $15 billion, above forecasts of $14.4 billion, while Pfizer reported a net loss of $248 million, driven by $4.3 billion in non-cash impairments mostly tied to a disappointing Phase 3 lung cancer trial of sigvotatug vedotin [1].
Why it matters for patients
Pfizer does not sell an obesity medication today, so these cuts do not change any current prescription. What they affect is the list of future options. Oral GLP-1 pills already on the US market come from other companies, including Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy, which is semaglutide, and Eli Lilly's Foundayo, which is orforglipron [2]. Novo's Wegovy pill held about 90% of weekly oral prescriptions as of July, roughly 1.5 million people [2].
Berobenatide is designed as a monthly injection, a different schedule from the weekly shots and daily pills now available. It is not approved, and Phase 3 results have not been reported, so its real-world benefit and risks are not yet established [1].
Cost and access are the other moving parts. Obesity drugs recorded $66 billion in sales last year and could reach between $105 billion and $200 billion by 2027 and beyond, according to IQVIA figures cited by BioSpace [2]. A temporary Medicare program that began granting improved access to obesity medications in July was estimated to grow coverage by about 35% and reach around 20 million potential patients, according to the investment bank William Blair [2]. Whether more competing products change US list prices or insurance coverage has not been established.
What happens next
Pfizer has not disclosed when Phase 3 results for berobenatide are expected, or when results from the YP05002 program might be available [1]. It has said it will keep looking at GLP-1 and GIP receptor approaches [1].
Elsewhere, Lilly is planning a regulatory submission for Foundayo in type 2 diabetes this year and for retatrutide in obesity and overweight in early 2027, while Novo Nordisk expects a regulatory decision on CagriSema, a combination of cagrilintide and semaglutide, in the fourth quarter [2].
Sources
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