This has been quite a week and the ideas we take home from ObesityWeek 2025 come from both inside and outside of the event in Atlanta. It is a reflection of the fact that the work of cloistered insiders in obesity is and will continue to have large effects in the larger world outside of our usual circles.
So here are a few of those thoughts from ObesityWeek 2025 we will take and ponder for a while to come.
1. Amylin’s Rising Star
For new clinical data, the unmistakable standout was the phase 2 clinical trial results with Eloralintide. It appears to be taking a leading position in a line of amylin agonists undergoing clinical trials. Presented on Thursday and published on Friday in The Lancet, results showed this new drug can deliver impressive effects while being relatively well tolerated. Carel Le Roux told reporters that he was pleasantly surprised by the efficacy of the drug and said:
“I think the drug can be a first-line standalone obesity medication, but I also think it can be a very good add-on drug if other obesity medications, such as semaglutide or tirzepatide, have not brought the patient to the treatment target.”
Lilly, encouraged by these results, will be starting the pivotal phase 3 trials for eloralintide next month.
2. Weight Loss May Be Old News
Another amylin agonist at an advanced development stage is cagrilintide. In combination with semaglutide people like to call it CagriSema. A new analysis of results, presented at ObesityWeek, has also been accepted for publication in the journal Hypertension. It showed meaningful reductions in blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors. Presenting author Subodh Verma explained the significance:
“The findings indicate that CagriSema could provide integrated cardiometabolic protection – addressing obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular risk concurrently. For clinicians, this represents a paradigm shift: a therapy that simultaneously targets multiple drivers of cardiometabolic disease.”
This is an emerging theme. We expect as new therapies add to the range of clinical options, the focus will be less on how much weight loss they produce. Instead, clinicians will be looking for longer term benefits on cardiometabolic health.
3. Intense Competition
Some of the most scintillating news came from outside the halls of this meeting. A drama unfolded in parallel with the meeting with Pfizer and Novo Nordisk fighting it out in court for the right to purchase the obesity startup called Metsera. It had everyone talking. News came today that Pfizer won the battle by sweetening their offer yet again. Beyond that, the assortment of new companies at this meeting to chase an opportunity in obesity was truly mind-boggling.
All of this simply shows how intense the competition is for a piece of what may be the biggest market for pharmaceuticals in the coming decades. The need is great and we have a long way to go before it is met.
4. Delivering Real Care at Scale
Two threads of the meeting get at the same challenge. One is the focus on models of care for obesity, about which we reported on the opening day. And then on the closing day, leaders from all over the world reported on global efforts to develop clinical practice guidelines. New pharmacotherapy guidelines are nearing publication for the U.S.
Together, these two threads push us toward meeting the huge challenge of addressing the need for delivering real obesity care at scale. Presently, clinical care is falling far short of meeting the need. Health systems all over the world must do much better.
5. New Oral Obesity Medicines
The news that orforglipron will get a super-priority review at FDA, together with clinical results in the spotlight this week, reinforces the potential for an oral medication to meet the need for long-term obesity therapy that people will keep taking. Obesity treatment for the masses, as Lilly has suggested.
Of course, this little list barely captures the great diversity of news that will continue to buzz about from ObesityWeek 2025. We are eager to learn more from people who come forward with their own thoughts and takes on the meeting.
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