Pharma Giants Boehringer And Zealand Gear Up For GLP1-RA MASH Competition

A sub-analysis of the Phase II trial (NCT04771273) revealed that patients who were being treated using survodutide experienced a notable improvement in their disease status. Specifically, after 48 weeks of treatment, 52.3% of patients with mild to moderate or advanced fibrosis showed improvement, in contrast to just 25.8% in the placebo group. In addition, with moderate to advanced fibrosis, 64.5 % of patients experienced an improvement in liver scarring-related indicators without a worsening of MASH, while only 25.9% of the placebo group saw similar benefits.

The data from this trial has been eagerly awaited since the initial announcement was made in February 2024, where it was reported that the trial had successfully fulfilled its primary objective. The results displayed that about 83% of adults showed a statistically significant improvement in MASH when compared to 18.2% in the placebo group. The comprehensive data was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the ongoing European Association for the Study of the Liver Congress (EASL) 2024.The competition in the MASH treatment field is getting heated up, with Boehringer and Zealand being competitive with Eli Lilly. On June 8, Eli Lilly announced that its GLP-1/GIP dual receptor agonist, Mounjaro (tirzepatide), also shows a significant impact on fibrosis in MASH patients (NCT04166773). The drug helped in reducing fibrosis by at least one stage in 51.8% of patients after 52 weeks of treatment at a 5mg dose.  

Survodutide, discovered & produced by Zealand, is a dual agonist of the GLP-1 & glucagon receptors. Boehringer is also analyzing & studying about survodutide for obesity, having advanced the candidate into three Phase III trials in August 2023 after positive results came from earlier studies.