Novo-Nordisk A/S and United Biotechnology announced that an experimental obesity drug they jointly developed helped patients lose weight in a mid-stage clinical trial conducted in China.

The trial results were disclosed one day after Novo-Nordisk A/S faced a setback in its new product sustainability plan, when an independent late-stage comparative study showed that its candidate obesity drug CagriSema did not outperform Eli Lilly's Zepbound. This highlights the increasing competition as pharmaceutical companies rush to introduce next-generation weight-loss medications.

Novo-Nordisk A/S, the developer of blockbuster drugs Wegovy and Ozempic used to treat obesity and diabetes, pioneered GLP-1 class medications but has since been surpassed by Eli Lilly and is now striving to catch up. The Danish pharmaceutical giant recently launched a tablet version of semaglutide in the U.S. and is advancing several candidate weight-loss drugs in its research pipeline.

On Tuesday, Novo-Nordisk A/S and United Biotechnology's parent company, United Laboratories International Holdings, reported that in the Chinese study, the drug called UBT251 led to an average weight reduction of up to 19.7% in patients after 24 weeks of administration.

Unlike Novo-Nordisk A/S's current product portfolio, UBT251 utilizes three different hormones to treat obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions. It combines a GLP-1 mimetic—the gut hormone mimicked by Wegovy and Ozempic to suppress appetite—with a mimetic of another hormone, GIP, which reduces appetite and blood sugar, as well as glucagon, which helps prevent hypoglycemia.

The companies stated that the drug appeared to be safe and well-tolerated, with some mild to moderate gastrointestinal side effects that diminished over time.

They added that all dosage groups of UBT251 showed significantly greater improvements in key secondary endpoints—such as waist circumference, blood sugar, and blood pressure—compared to the placebo group.

The study, designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a once-weekly injection of UBT251, was conducted in China by United Biotechnology, which plans to advance the drug into late-stage trials for overweight/obese patients in China based on the latest results.

Novo-Nordisk A/S has separately initiated a global early- and mid-stage clinical trial testing different doses of UBT251, lasting up to 28 weeks, with results expected next year. The company also plans to begin a mid-stage clinical trial for patients with type 2 diabetes later this year.

The two companies are co-developing the drug under an agreement signed in March of last year, valued at up to $20 billion, as one of several deals Novo-Nordisk A/S has pursued to supplement its new product sustainability plan. The company also attempted to acquire U.S. startup Metsera but lost the bidding war to Pfizer.