Ascletis Pharma (HKG:1672) saw its stock price soar by 5.07% in Monday's trading session following the announcement of encouraging preclinical results for its novel weight loss drug combination.

The company reported that a combination of its experimental drugs ASC47 and ASC31 demonstrated significantly greater weight loss compared to ASC47 plus tirzepatide in an animal model of obesity. The combination of low-dose ASC47 with ASC31 resulted in a 44.8% reduction in body weight, outperforming the 38.1% reduction achieved by ASC47 plus tirzepatide after 14 days of treatment in diet-induced obese mice.

Dr. Wu Jinzi, Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ascletis, expressed optimism about the results, stating, "Our novel GLP-1R/GIPR dual receptor agonist peptide ASC31 combined with THRβ agonist ASC47 demonstrated excellent weight loss effects in this animal model. This new therapy shows significant differentiation potential compared to marketed weight loss drugs and other investigational candidate drugs." The company is building a robust pipeline of potential obesity therapies covering both small molecules and peptides, positioning itself strongly in the competitive weight loss drug market.