Roche Holding said it would pay Danish biotechnology research company Zealand Pharma up to $5.3 billion under an agreement to co-develop a weight-loss treatment.

Basel: Roche has announced that it has entered into an exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement with Zealand Pharma. Under the terms of this agreement, the two companies will collaborate

Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) is looking to boost its presence in the booming weight-loss market through an exclusive collaboration and licensing deal with Danish biotech Zealand Pharma (OTCPK:ZLDPF). Under the terms of deal,

Roche partnered with Zealand Pharma to license an experimental weight loss drug for $1.65 billion upfront, expanding its obesity pipeline.

The two companies will work together on Zealand’s amylin analogue petrelintide as a monotherapy and in combination therapies.

Roche and Zealand reason petrelintide could deliver weight loss comparable to glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists but without the side effects associated with GLP-1 drugs.

Several weight loss drug stocks are sliding today as pharmaceutical companies battle for dominance in the booming GLP-1 market — which is projected to hit $105 billion by 2030, according to Morgan Stanley (MS) analysts.

Roche partners with Zealand Pharma on obesity drug petrelintide, with a $5.3B deal including milestone payments and global commercialization rights.

Roche has acquired rights to an obesity therapy by Denmark's Zealand Pharma in a collaboration deal worth up to $5.3 billion, as the Swiss drugmaker seeks to boost its prospects in the booming weight-loss market.