Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma Advance to Phase 2 Clinical Testing in NASH and Obesity
13.4.2021 15:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma A/S (“Zealand”) (NASDAQ: ZEAL) announced the initiation of two Phase 2 trials of the GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist BI 456906 for adults who are overweight or obese and for adults with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The compound was in-licensed from Zealand in 2011 and is being investigated in an ongoing Phase 2 study in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The once-weekly therapy may offer additional benefits on both chronic weight management, and NASH improvement and prevention of the progression to cirrhosis compared to currently available treatments with mono GLP-1 agonist compounds. BI 456906 is part of Boehringer Ingelheim’s growing portfolio in the obesity and NASH disease areas.
“Obesity and NASH are areas of high unmet medical need, with limited approved treatments currently available. They are associated with lower quality of life and increased mortality,” explains Prof. Arun J. Sanyal, Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Molecular Pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. “I hope that this new approach will bring a much-needed treatment option for HCPs and people afflicted with obesity or NASH.”
Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand have a fruitful longstanding partnership, bringing together Zealand’s expertise in the discovery of innovative peptide-based medicines with Boehringer Ingelheim’s expertise in the research and development of novel medicines for cardiometabolic diseases. “We are very excited to see the initiation of Phase 2 trials of BI 456906 for obesity and NASH,” said Adam Steensberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Zealand Pharma. “By combining GLP-1 and glucagon agonism mechanistically, we believe our dual agonist has the potential to achieve increased weight loss, via improvement of the patient’s metabolism, and also has potential to alleviate NASH by reducing upstream steatosis.”
“Our cardiometabolic research and development is focusing on discovering novel treatments for obesity and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), to meet the large unmet need among these groups,” explains Waheed Jamal, MD, Head of Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Respiratory Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim. “We are exploring a number of unique approaches with great potential to help people living with obesity or NASH. We believe dual agonists are next generation drug candidates with a potential for higher efficacy in weight loss and NASH improvement/cirrhosis prevention.”
Under the terms of the GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist licensing agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim funds all research, development and commercialization activities. Zealand is entitled to receive up to EUR 345 million in outstanding milestone payments. No milestone payments are due with the initiations of these Phase 2 studies. The agreement also carries high-single digit to low-double digit percentage royalties on global sales.
Please click on the following link for ‘Notes to Editors’ and ‘References’:
http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/press-release/clinical-phase2-trials-nash-and-obesity
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005636/en/
Contact information
Boehringer Ingelheim
Dr. Birgit Leimer
Product Communications Manager
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Center GmbH
Media + PR
E-Mail: press@boehringer-ingelheim.com
Zealand Pharma
David Rosen
Argot Partners
E-Mail: media@zealandpharma.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Volue Welcomes TA Associates as New Strategic Investor13.2.2026 12:15:00 EET | Press release
Volue, a global leader in electrification and energy technology, today announced that TA Associates (“TA”), a leading global private equity firm, has joined as a new strategic investor alongside Advent International (“Advent”), Generation Investment Management (“Generation”) and Arendals Fossekompani. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260213436945/en/ Over the past 18 months, Volue has undergone a strategic transformation to sharpen its focus on the energy sector. During this period, Volue divested non-core activities and invested in targeted R&D innovation and strategic acquisitions to further position Volue as a leading provider of integrated technology solutions for power trading and generation, grid optimization, and energy market intelligence. Operating at the center of one of the most mission-critical markets of our time, Volue provides technology that enables utilities, grid operators, traders, and energy
ABB strengthens electrical engineering advisory capabilities in Europe with Premium Power acquisition13.2.2026 11:30:00 EET | Press release
ABB today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Premium Power, a leading electrical engineering consultancy headquartered near Dublin, Ireland. For more than two decades, Premium Power has established its reputation as a trusted advisor to large customers, particularly in data centers, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other mission-critical sectors where electrical resilience, uptime and regulatory compliance are essential. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260213161407/en/ Paula O'Neill, Managing Director, Premium Power (L) and Owen Flood, Local Division Manager, ABB Electrification Service (R) As demand for electrification accelerates and power systems become more complex due to digitalization, renewable integration and grid constraints, customers increasingly require specialist advisory suppo
EnergyAustralia, Enerven and NHOA Energy Mark Financial Close and Project Launch of the 245 MWh Hallett Battery in South Australia13.2.2026 09:00:00 EET | Press release
NHOA Energy, global provider of utility-scale energy storage systems, today marked together with EnergyAustralia and Enerven the official project launch of a 245 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Hallett, near the town of Canowie, in South Australia, following the achievement of financial close and the project’s transition into the delivery phase. The milestone was announced today during a project launch ceremony held at the Hallett Power Station, attended by representatives of EnergyAustralia, Enerven, NHOA Energy, government, Traditional Owners and local community stakeholders. Owned and developed by EnergyAustralia, the Hallett BESS is being built alongside the existing Hallett gas-fired power station and represents the first stage of a broader site development. As delivery partner for Stage 1 of the project, NHOA Energy will supply a Battery Energy Storage System delivering 245 MWh of guaranteed usable energy capacity (50 MW with five hours of storage) at Beginning of Lif
Echoworx Encryption Arrives on AWS Marketplace: Frictionless Security for a Global World13.2.2026 08:00:00 EET | Press release
Echoworx, the trusted name in email encryption, is now live on AWS Marketplace—fully deployed on AWS infrastructure. For global businesses, this means securing sensitive communications just got a whole lot easier, starting from purchase. Why AWS Marketplace? Why Now? Echoworx’s mission has always been to make secure communications as easy and accessible as possible. By joining the AWS Marketplace, Echoworx is taking this mission a step further, ensuring that customers can procure its encryption solution with the same ease and efficiency they experience when using it. Cross-border compliance, taxes, and billing headaches slow teams down. With AWS Marketplace, Echoworx customers bypass the usual red tape: automated tax and regulatory handling, simple multi-currency billing, and support for Private Offers. That translates to custom pricing and contracts in local currencies, less foreign exchange guesswork, and a procurement process built for modern enterprise. "Our partnership with AWS Ma
Align Partners Issues Formal Shareholder Proposals to Gabia13.2.2026 02:37:00 EET | Press release
Align Partners Capital Management Inc. (“Align Partners”), a shareholder of Gabia, Inc. (“Gabia” or the “Company”), has submitted formal shareholder proposals for inclusion in the agenda of Gabia’s upcoming 27th Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) and issued a call for strengthened governance practices to address the Company’s persistent undervaluation. Align Partners noted that, as shareholder proposals will be presented at this year’s AGM, Gabia should follow the Korea Exchange (KRX) Corporate Governance Key Indicators by publishing the AGM convocation notice at least four weeks prior to the meeting date. Align Partners emphasized that last year’s AGM notice was issued only 16 days before the meeting, limiting shareholders’ ability to adequately review the agenda and exercise informed voting rights. Gabia is widely recognized as a leading Korean IT services and cloud infrastructure company with solid operating performance. Despite these strengths, Align Partners believes the Company conti
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom