Zealand Pharma and Roche to advance petrelintide, an amylin analog, to Phase 3 trials for chronic weight management
Company announcement – No. 11 / 2026
Zealand Pharma and Roche to advance petrelintide, an amylin analog, to Phase 3 trials for chronic weight management
- Phase 3 trials for chronic weight management planned for initiation in the second half of 2026
- Petrelintide demonstrated double-digit weight loss with placebo-like tolerability in the ZUPREME-1 Phase 2 trial
- Zealand Pharma and Roche aim to unlock the full value potential of petrelintide providing a highly tolerable option for people living with overweight and obesity
Copenhagen, Denmark, April 29, 2026 – Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) (CVR-no. 20045078), a biotechnology company transforming the future of metabolic health, today announced formal endorsement to advance petrelintide, an amylin analog for chronic weight management, into Phase 3 trials with its partner Roche. The initiation is planned for the second half of 2026.
Adam Steensberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zealand Pharma, said,
“Advancing petrelintide into Phase 3 marks an important step for the program and our collaboration with Roche. By delivering exceptional tolerability and desired weight loss without disrupting daily life, we aim to redefine the weight management experience for people living with overweight and obesity."
The Phase 3 program for petrelintide is designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of petrelintide as a once-weekly subcutaneous treatment in adults living with obesity or overweight with weight-related comorbidities. Petrelintide has the potential to address significant unmet needs in chronic weight management by providing a highly tolerable alternative that promotes long-term adherence, a critical factor for sustained health outcomes.
About petrelintide
Petrelintide is a long-acting amylin analog suitable for once-weekly subcutaneous administration that has been designed with chemical and physical stability with no fibrillation around neutral pH, allowing for co-formulation and co-administration with other peptides1. Amylin is produced in the pancreatic beta cells and co-secreted with insulin in response to ingested nutrients. Amylin receptor activation has been shown to reduce body weight by restoring sensitivity to the satiety hormone leptin2,3, inducing a sense of feeling full faster.
In 2025, Zealand Pharma and Roche entered into an exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement to co-develop and co-commercialize petrelintide for people living with overweight and obesity. Petrelintide is currently being developed for chronic weight management as both a monotherapy agent and in combination with Roche’s GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist enicepatide (CT-388). A Phase 2 trial evaluating the combination of petrelintide and enicepatide (CT-388) is planned for initiation in the second quarter of 2026.
About Zealand Pharma
Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) is a biotechnology company focused on advancing medicines for obesity and metabolic health. Combining more than 25 years of peptide R&D expertise with a proprietary data platform that leverages advanced data‑driven and AI/ML approaches, Zealand Pharma aims to lead a new era in obesity and metabolic health.
To date, more than 10 Zealand Pharma‑invented drug candidates have entered clinical development, of which two products have reached the market and three candidates are in late-stage development. The Company has collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners for research, development, and commercialization.
Founded in 1998, Zealand Pharma is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a U.S. presence in Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.zealandpharma.com.
Forward-looking statements
This company announcement contains “forward-looking statements”, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 in the United States, as amended, even though no longer listed in the United States this is used as a definition to provide Zealand Pharma’s expectations or forecasts of future events regarding the research, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products, the timing of the company’s clinical trials and the reporting of data therefrom and the company’s significant events and potential catalysts in 2026 and financial guidance for 2026. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “will,” “would”, and other words and terms of similar meaning. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data presented. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions, which may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations set forth herein and may cause any or all of such forward-looking statements to be incorrect, and which include, but are not limited to, unexpected costs or delays in clinical trials and other development activities due to adverse safety events or otherwise; unexpected concerns that may arise from additional data, analysis or results obtained during clinical trials; our ability to successfully market both new and existing products; changes in reimbursement rules and governmental laws and related interpretation thereof; government-mandated or market-driven price decreases for our products; introduction of competing products; production problems; unexpected growth in costs and expenses; our ability to effect the strategic reorganization of our businesses in the manner planned; failure to protect and enforce our data, intellectual property and other proprietary rights and uncertainties relating to intellectual property claims and challenges; regulatory authorities may require additional information or further studies, or may reject, fail to approve or may delay approval of our drug candidates or expansion of product labelling; failure to obtain regulatory approvals in other jurisdictions; exposure to product liability and other claims; interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; unexpected contract breaches or terminations; inflationary pressures on the global economy; and political uncertainty. If any or all of such forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied by such statements. The foregoing sets forth many, but not all, of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations in any forward-looking statement. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release/company announcement and are based on information available to Zealand Pharma as of the date of this release/announcement. We do not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof. Information concerning pharmaceuticals (including compounds under development) contained within this material is not intended as advertising or medical advice.
Zealand Pharma® is a registered trademark of Zealand Pharma A/S.
Contacts
Eric Rojas (Investors)
Vice President, Head of Investor Relations
Zealand Pharma
Email: erojas@zealandpharma.com
Adam Lange (Investors)
Vice President, Investor Relations
Zealand Pharma
Email: alange@zealandpharma.com
Neshat Ahmadi (Investors)
Investor Relations Manager
Zealand Pharma
Email: neahmadi@zealandpharma.com
Rachel James-Owens (Media)
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Media Relations
Zealand Pharma
Email: rjamesowens@zealandpharma.com
Andreas Hylleberg Mølleskov (Media)
Director, External Communications
Zealand Pharma
Email: ahylleberg@zealandpharma.com
Amber Fennell, Jessica Hodgson, Sean Leous (Media)
ICR Healthcare
Email: ZealandPharma@icrhealthcare.com
Phone: +44 (0) 7739 658 783
References
1. Eriksson et al. Presentation at ObesityWeek, November 1–4, 2022, San Diego, CA. Link: https://www.zealandpharma.com/media/0gnfxg4b/zp8396-sema-coformulation-obesityweek-2022.pdf.
2. Mathiesen et al. Eur J Endocrinol 2022;186(6):R93–R111.
3. Roth et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008;105(20):7257–7262.
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