Private equity firm Blackstone Life Sciences has agreed to supply Pfizer with up to $1.5 billion in funding for the latter’s once-monthly candidate berobenatide. This capital infusion will directly support the ambitious GLP-1 drug development strategy for berobenatide, which is intended to offer patients less frequent injections compared to the current generation of once-weekly therapies targeting weight loss, type 2 diabetes, and related indications currently sold by Eli Lilly and Novo.
Clinical Trials and Therapeutic Focus
Pfizer has established 10 phase 3 trials for berobenatide that are either ongoing or in the planning stages. These clinical evaluations primarily focus on chronic weight management alongside obesity-related comorbidities, including knee osteoarthritis and obstructive sleep apnoea. The advancement of this extensive clinical program for chronic weight management underscores the pharmaceutical company’s focus on expanding its therapeutic reach in the metabolic sector.
At this year’s American Diabetes Association (ADA) annual congress, the pharma group presented data from the phase 2b VESPER-1 study. This study revealed a weight loss of 15.9% at 60 weeks with a weekly injection. Furthermore, the VESPER-3 trial demonstrated up to 12.4% weight loss with a monthly dose at week 28. In addition, data from the Phase 2b VESPER-2 study, which evaluated weekly dosing in people with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, showed a 2.2% reduction in A1C – a marker for blood glucose control – after 28 weeks.
Financing Strategy and Industry Partnerships
This transaction represents a notable application of an increasingly popular risk-sharing model within the life sciences sector. Under this risk-sharing model, an investment group funds a clinical development programme in the hope of a bigger payoff down the line in the form of development and commercial milestone payments and sometimes royalties, with rights to the asset staying with the pharma partner. The approach for Blackstone Life Sciences generally involves acting as a partner on late-stage clinical assets.
Previous Late-Stage Agreements
The private equity group has previously signed agreements of this type with Johnson & Johnson for acute myeloid leukaemia therapy bleximenib, MSD for cancer antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT), Sanofi/Teva for inflammatory bowel disease candidate duvakitug, and Moderna for a flu vaccine programme, alongside other such deals.
“This collaboration is a good example of our leadership in providing capital solutions at scale to advance important medicines and technologies to patients,” said Blackstone’s global life science head, Dr Nicholas Galakatos.
Strategic Acquisitions and Future Pathway
Pfizer acquired berobenatide (formerly PF-08653944/MET-097i) as part of its $10 billion takeover of Metsera last year, a move prompted by the failure of in-house GLP-1 candidates. The new funding secures the necessary resources for their ongoing GLP-1 drug development.
According to Pfizer’s chief financial officer, Cecile Guegan, the investment will help the company to “advance our comprehensive obesity program and maintain the financial capacity and flexibility to invest in our broader pipeline across all therapeutic areas.”
