Verdiva Bio ends Phase 2 trial of oral GLP-1 VRB-101 for injectable switch patients

Verdiva Bio has stopped a Phase 2 trial of VRB-101, an experimental once-weekly oral GLP-1, that was testing the drug as a maintenance option for people who had lost weight on injectable GLP-1 medicines. The company announced the decision on October 14, 2026, citing "market evolution" ^[1][2].

The trial enrolled eight participants before it was terminated, far short of the 120 people Verdiva originally planned to recruit ^[1]. Investigators began enrolling patients in June, and the study ended in September ^[1]. A Verdiva spokesperson said the company "refined our clinical development plans for VRB-101 in light of market evolution" ^[1][2]. A federal clinical trials database lists the discontinuation as a "business decision" and not based on safety findings ^[2].

The study was designed around a specific group: patients who had taken injectable semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy) or tirzepatide (sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound) for at least six months and had lost at least 10% of their body weight ^[2]. The question was whether a once-weekly oral drug could hold that weight loss ^[1][2].

VRB-101 is an oral version of ecnoglutide, licensed from Chinese company Sciwind Biosciences. Verdiva paid $70 million upfront and put more than $2.4 billion on the line in milestone payments, according to BioSpace; the deal was signed in 2024 but revealed in January 2025 ^[2]. Verdiva launched with a Series A round that Fierce Biotech reports as $410 million and BioSpace reports as $411 million — the third-largest private biotech round of 2025 ^[1][2].

A subcutaneous version of ecnoglutide is approved in China for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management, with Pfizer holding commercialization rights there ^[2]. In June, Sciwind said a head-to-head Phase 2 trial in China showed subcutaneous ecnoglutide produced 35% greater weight loss than semaglutide: patients on ecnoglutide lost 12.8% of their body weight on average at 20 weeks, versus 9.5% for semaglutide, a difference Sciwind said was statistically significant ^[2].

Weekly dosing was part of the pitch. VRB-101 is given once a week, potentially more convenient than Lilly's daily Foundayo (orforglipron) tablets ^[1]. Lilly has shared data from its own switch-maintenance trial in December ^[1]. Verdiva CEO Khurem Farooq said tolerability, along with "some reasonable level of expectation around efficacy," is the key issue for oral weight loss drugs, and that a once-weekly oral option "allows you the possibility of maintenance dosing over the longer period versus being on injectables" ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Nothing available to patients changes because of this decision. The trial that ended was a mid-stage study that had enrolled eight people, no results from it have been reported, and it did not involve an approved product ^[1][2].

It does remove one early candidate for a specific use — an oral drug to maintain weight lost on injections — from the list of approaches being tested. Whether a pill can reliably hold weight lost on injectables is still an open question that other companies, including Lilly, are pursuing ^[1]. Verdiva cited business reasons rather than safety, and no safety findings from the trial have been reported ^[2].

What happens next

Verdiva says it will keep developing VRB-101 as a monotherapy ^[1][2]. Its Phase 2b monotherapy trial, EVOLVE-2, tested the drug in 206 patients and ended in July; Verdiva said the data are being assessed and has not released results ^[1][2]. After finishing enrollment in February, the company said it expected topline results by the end of the year ^[1]. Verdiva also said last month that it aims to share initial Phase 1 data this year on VRB-101 combined with VRB-103, its oral amylin peptide analog ^[1]. Whether Verdiva will run another trial of VRB-101 in people switching off injectables has not been disclosed.