Pfizer has confirmed that it has struck an almost $2.1bn licensing deal with YaoPharma in order to develop as well as commercialize its obesity pill, hence furthering its push into the weight loss spectrum.
It is worth noting that the oral drug of YaoPharma works by way of targeting the same gut hormone, GLP-1, which Wegovy – Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight loss injection does; however, the pill is still in its early-stage development.
The deal is indeed going to help Pfizer to beef up and even diversify its obesity drug pipeline after its $10 billion acquisition of Metsera, the obesity biotech, in November 2025.
Apparently, Pfizer on December 9, 2025, had said that it had done a $2.1bn licensing deal with YaoPharma so as to develop and also commercialize its obesity pill, hence in a way furthering the push within the weight loss space of the pharmaceutical giant.
Pfizer, as per the deal, is going to pay YaoPharma, which is a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, the Chinese drugmaker, an up-front payment of $150 million. YaoPharma may as well receive almost $1.94 billion in terms of milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties on sales if this drug gets the approval.
It is well to be noted that YaoPharma’s drug works through targeting the same gut hormone, GLP-1, which Wegovy, the Novo Nordisk blockbuster weight loss injection, does. However, the pill is in its early-stage development, which thus means that it is indeed going to take many years to reach patients.
The deal, interestingly, is going to help Pfizer ramp up and also diversify its obesity drug pipeline post a series of setbacks, which included its decisions to scrap a couple of different pills over the past two years. The drugmaker has boosted its prospects in the competitive space with the almost $10 billion acquisition of Metsera, the obesity biotech, in November 2025, after a fierce bidding war that took place with Novo Nordisk.
According to the chief scientific officer of Pfizer, Chris Boshoff, they indeed look forward to contributing their expertise as well as resources so as to continue the development of this investigational GLP-1 small molecule that goes ahead and complements and also strengthens their growing portfolio in terms of novel candidates so as to treat obesity along with its adjacent diseases.
As per the terms of the agreement, YaoPharma is going to conduct a phase one trial when it comes to its drug, whereas, on the other hand, Pfizer is going to take control of the later development. Pfizer also looks forward to conducting studies that combine treatment by YaoPharma with its own drug targeting yet another gut hormone receptor named GIP, which at present is in its mid-stage development.
That combination is not new in the space, as weight loss injection Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro from Eli Lilly go on to use a dual approach that targets both GLP-1 as well as GIP.
In a note on December 9, 2025, Evan Seigerman, the BMO Capital Markets analyst, remarked that there is only a limited set of information that is at present available on YP05002, the drug from YaoPharma. However, as per Seigerman, he views obesity diversification as promising when it comes to the short term for Pfizer.
He further went on to add that the $150 million up-front payment by Pfizer goes on to reflect the prudent capital conservation in light of the very recent Metsera bidding war.
The opportunity to enter this booming weight loss drug market can very well be huge for Pfizer. Some analysts go on to expect the weight loss drug space to be worth almost around $100 billion by the end of this decade.
However, it is still unclear as to exactly how many people are using GLP-1s in the U.S., especially for obesity in particular. But almost 1 in 8 adults said that they were taking a GLP-1 drug so as to lose weight or treat another chronic condition as of November, as per health policy research organization KFF’s poll.
