(Reuters) – Shares of Structure Therapeutics soared 60% on Friday after the drug developer’s oral obesity treatment succeeded in a small early-stage study.
The once-daily drug helped participants reduce up to 4.5 kgs of body weight on average after four weeks of treatment, the company said.
The drug, GSBR-1290, belongs to the same class of treatments as Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro.
The treatments, known as GLP-1s, help regulate blood sugar, slow the rate at which the stomach empties food and decrease appetite.
Structure has said it is focused on developing oral obesity drugs that are simpler to manufacture than the current injectables.
Wegovy and Mounjaro are both weekly injections.
Structure “delivered better-than-expected efficacy and tolerability” for its oral drug, said Leerink Partners Research analyst David Risinger, adding that the early data was exceptional.
The surge was set to add $1.1 billion to the company’s market value if gains hold. The California-based company’s stock has gained 44% since its debut on the Nasdaq in February.
The drug also showed an encouraging safety and tolerability profile in the 24 healthy overweight or obese trial participants.
Structure said it plans to test GSBR-1290 in two mid-stage studies as a treatment for type 2 diabetes and obesity.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru)
