Obesity\u2019s ascent has spilled over into conferences like ADA, where many of the most highly anticipated presentations focus on weight control. This is especially true for the 2026 edition of the congress, which features a superstar lineup of companies presenting new data on both approved and investigational drugs.<\/p>\n
These include readouts from undisputed weight loss leaders Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, as well as from other major pharmas looking to stake their claim in the sector. But ADA 2026<\/a> will also see some plucky biotechs stand up to these giants, bringing their own obesity candidates that could give these deep-pocketed counterparts a run for their money.<\/p>\n \n Frontrunners face off with next-gen obesity bets<\/p>\n All eyes at ADA will be on Lilly and Novo and their next-generation assets as they chart the way forward for the obesity space.<\/p>\n Lilly will present data from the Phase 3 TRIUMPH-1 and TRANSCEND-T2D-1 studies of its triple-G agonist retatrutide in obesity and diabetes, respectively. Lilly has deemed retatrutide part of a \u201cdifferent drug category,\u201d as compared with its current weight-loss drugs, Andy Hsieh, healthcare research analyst at William Blair, told BioSpace in an email.<\/p>\n Hsieh expects the triple-G asset, \u201cgiven its high potency,\u201d to set itself apart from Lilly\u2019s other obesity products\u2014including the GLP-1\/GIP dual agonist Zepbound and small-molecule drug Foundayo. Still, he anticipates that the debate around retatrutide will focus on the tradeoff between its weight loss efficacy and tolerability.<\/p>\n Indeed, data that Lilly has disclosed so far demonstrate impressive weight reduction. Retatrutide generated 28.3% weight loss<\/a> over 80 weeks in the Phase 3 TRIUMPH-1 study, Lilly announced on May 21, likening the results<\/a> to those elicited by bariatric surgery. The trial assessed the candidate in patients with obesity but without diabetes.<\/p>\n The Phase 3 TRIUMPH-4 study, reported in December, showed a 26.6% placebo-adjusted weight-loss<\/a> at 68 weeks in patients who have obesity or are overweight with knee osteoarthritis, results BMO Capital Markets said at the time \u201chelp to solidify retatrutide\u2019s profile as an even higher efficacy next generation GLP-1+ asset.\u201d<\/p>\n But the drug\u2019s safety profile has tempered some of the industry\u2019s excitement, with Lilly reporting a signal called dysesthesia\u2014a neurological anomaly characterized by unpleasant or painful sensations\u2014in more than a fifth of patients on the 20-mg dose of retatrutide in TRIUMPH-4. Dysesthesia also occurred in TRIUMPH-1, with rates rising with dose level.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Analysts were hoping for a safety profile similar to what was achieved in Phase II but an abnormal sense of touch, called dysesthesia, has emerged in the late-stage TRIUMPH-4 trial.\n <\/p>\n December 11, 2025<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n 3 min read<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n Not to be outdone by its chief competitor, Novo is bringing its own next-generation weight-loss candidate, CagriSema, to ADA 2026. The drug is a fixed-dose combination of its GLP-1 giant semaglutide and long-acting amylin analog cagrilintide.<\/p>\n While the pharma will give several presentations<\/a> at the conference, William Blair believes investors will be more interested in CagriSema\u2019s data in diabetes\u2014outlined in the Phase 3 REIMAGINE 1, 2 and 3 studies\u2014than in obesity after the asset \u201cfailed to demonstrate non-inferiority\u201d versus Lilly\u2019s Zepbound<\/a>, according to a May 4 note.<\/p>\n In February, data from Novo\u2019s head-to-head REDEFINE-4 study<\/a> showed that patients on CagriSema lost 23% of their body weight on average at 84 weeks, whereas comparators on Zepbound saw a 25.5% reduction in weight.<\/p>\n Novo remains confident in CagriSema, however, and expects the drug to hit U.S. shelves next year. \u201cWhen CagriSema will make it to the market early next year as the first amylin-based product, it will have the best weight loss label than any product marketed at that time,\u201d CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar told investors and analysts at the time of the head-to-head readout.<\/p>\n \n Behind the duopoly, Big Pharmas play for third<\/p>\n With Lilly and Novo firmly in the lead, the rest of biopharma is looking to claim that coveted third place, with Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche and more hustling to get their candidates to the market. Many of these aspirants will be at ADA 2026.<\/p>\n Based on timelines alone, Hsieh told BioSpace, Boehringer appears poised to win the race.<\/p>\n Boehringer has licensed Zealand Pharma\u2019s survodutide, a dual agonist of the GLP-1 and glucagon receptors, \u201cdesigned to go beyond weight reduction by targeting pathways relevant to metabolic dysfunction and liver disease,\u201d Vani Manja, global head of Obesity and Liver Health at the German pharma, told BioSpace in an email.<\/p>\n With survodutide, Boehringer is shifting its focus \u201cfrom weight loss to metabolic health, from single targets to multi\u2011pathway approaches, and from short\u2011term outcomes to more durable impact,\u201d Manja said.<\/p>\n At ADA, the company will present detailed data from the Phase 3 SYNCHRONIZE-1 study, a topline readout from which showed a 16.6% drop<\/a> in weight at 76 weeks, as compared with 3.2% in placebo controls. These numbers \u201cappear less competitive vs other dual target mechanisms,\u201d such as Lilly\u2019s tirzepatide, BMO said in an April 28 note.<\/p>\n Still, survodutide could set itself apart from the current leaders by offering better quality weight loss, BMO added. Indeed, most of the weight reduction in SYNCHRONIZE-1 was due to fat loss. Lean mass accounted for \u201conly a small proportion\u201d of the total weight that participants lost, Zealand said at the time.<\/p>\n William Blair expects to see more detailed data from SYNCHRONIZE-1 at ADA, particularly \u201cadditional color from survodutide\u2019s impact on body composition and liver fat,\u201d according to the firm\u2019s May 4 note. These findings, in turn, could have readthroughs to other indications, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASH), which survodutide is also targeting, the analysts continued.<\/p>\n Another potential third-placer<\/a> is Roche. The pharma in late 2023 invested $2.7 billion<\/a> to acquire Carmot Therapeutics and its pipeline of GLP-1 therapies, including CT-388, which additionally activates the GIP receptor. Phase 2 data for the asset in January demonstrated a 22.5% placebo-adjusted weight reduction<\/a> at 48 weeks, with no signs of plateauing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Roche aims to become a \u201ctop three player\u201d in obesity, Teresa Graham, CEO of the group\u2019s Pharma unit, said Thursday during a presentation of the company\u2019s full-year 2025 earnings.\n <\/p>\n January 29, 2026<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n 2 min read<\/p>\n More detailed data from the trial will be presented at ADA, where William Blair will be keeping an eye out for detailed tolerability data, \u201cgiven the relatively high doses being evaluated,\u201d analysts said on May 4. So far, Roche has only said<\/a> that CT-388\u2019s safety is \u201cgenerally consistent with the incretin class of medicines.\u201d<\/p>\n The firm also believes that investors will also be interested in learning about Roche\u2019s plans to combine CT-388 with Zealand\u2019s amylin therapy petrelintide. Roche signed an up to $5.3 billion partnership<\/a> in March 2025 with the Danish biotech for the asset.<\/p>\n Also gaining ground on the leaders is Amgen, which according to Hsieh is just a bit behind Boehringer in terms of timing. When it comes to weight-loss numbers, Amgen might \u201chave a better chance of catching up to the duopoly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Anchoring Amgen\u2019s weight-loss portfolio is MariTide, a bispecific antibody-peptide that targets both GLP-1 and GIP pathways. In November 2024, the pharma released Phase 2 data showing an up to 20% drop in body weight at 52 weeks\u2014findings analysts found disappointing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amgen is nevertheless standing by MariTide. During the company\u2019s earnings call in April, Murdo Gordon, executive vice president of global commercial operations, said<\/a> MariTide has the potential \u201cto be the best monthly or less frequently dosed agent\u201d in obesity.<\/p>\n In addition to weight loss, Amgen is positioning<\/a> MariTide as a medicine for adjacent indications, such as heart failure, obstructive sleep apnea and elevated liver fat.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see the future of care as increasingly connected across obesity and cardiovascular disease as these conditions commonly coexist and can lead to serious outcomes or death, even though they are treatable,\u201d Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton told BioSpace in an email.<\/p>\n Amgen will be at ADA 2026 but will not be presenting MariTide data.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Amgen has launched a late-stage program to test the feasibility of switching patients from weekly GLP-1 injections to its own investigational obesity asset MariTide, which could open up monthly or more infrequent dosing schedules.\n <\/p>\n May 1, 2026<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n 2 min read<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n \n Don\u2019t discount the little guys<\/p>\n Obesity isn\u2019t just an opportunity for the big guys, of course, as many smaller biotechs are also advancing promising candidates.<\/p>\n Structure Therapeutics is working on the GLP-1 pill aleniglipron, a potential competitor to Lilly\u2019s Foundayo<\/a> and Novo\u2019s oral Wegovy<\/a>. In December 2025, Structure released data from the Phase 2b ACCESS II study, showing that a 120-mg dose of aleniglipron resulted in an 11.3% placebo-adjusted weight reduction<\/a> at 36 weeks\u2014findings that BMO in a Dec. 8 note called \u201chighly competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n Additional data in March showed that at the 44-week follow-up, average weight loss improved even further to 16.3%<\/a> on a placebo-adjusted basis.<\/p>\n Structure will show up at ADA with a detailed presentation<\/a> of ACCESS II, as well as data from the dose-ranging ACCESS study<\/a>. The biotech will also have posters looking at a lower starting dose of aleniglipron and a combination regimen of the candidate paired with an amylin asset.<\/p>\n Viking Therapeutics is similarly looking to play alongside the industry giants with its dual GLP-1\/GIP agonist VK2735<\/a>, which the biotech is advancing both as a subcutaneous injection and as a daily pill. In his email to BioSpace, Hsieh also named VK2735 as one of the obesity hopefuls likely to catch up to Lilly and Novo, with a chance to potentially overtake Boehringer.<\/p>\n At the recently concluded European Congress on Obesity last month, Viking presented data from the Phase 2 VENTURE-Oral study, touting placebo-adjusted weight reduction of up to 10.9%<\/a> for patients on oral VK2735 at 13 weeks. Meanwhile, the weekly subcutaneous injection hit weight loss of up to 13.1%<\/a> on a placebo-adjusted basis at the same time point, according to Phase 2 data presented in November 2024.<\/p>\n![\"Dartboard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780707263_235_.jpeg\")
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