Zealand Pharma has paused development of its GLP-1/GLP-2 dual agonist dapiglutide after completing a review of its obesity pipeline. Early results showed about 11.6 percent weight loss at 28 weeks. The drug works, but the effect does no better than what's already available from newer incretin-based therapies. With stronger candidates on the market and more coming from multiple companies, dapiglutide does not appear to be a strong competitor.
The company noted that advancing the program would require a long and costly clinical path with limited opportunity to differentiate. Drug development is sometimes stopped for this reason alone. It does not reflect a safety concern, but a clinical profile that doesn't provide an advantage over existing or soon-to-be-available treatments.
Zealand will focus its resources on programs with clearer potential, including petrelintide and survodutide, both of which are moving toward key data readouts in 2026.
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