As­traZeneca puts down $185M up­front for PhI oral GLP-1 as it shoots for next-gen win

As­traZeneca has re­cruit­ed a new star to its bud­ding GLP-1 show, pick­ing up an ear­ly-stage oral can­di­date from Chi­na’s Ec­co­gene in a deal fea­tur­ing $185 mil­lion up­front.

While it trails far be­hind GLP-1 lead­ers like No­vo Nordisk and Eli Lil­ly — which just won an ap­proval for tirzepatide (Zep­bound) in weight loss — the com­pa­ny is bet­ting that this oral al­ter­na­tive will be­come a “best in class” op­tion, both as a monother­a­py and in com­bi­na­tions. Like the es­tab­lished play­ers, it will be eye­ing type 2 di­a­betes, weight loss and more.

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