Celltrion to unveil obesity drug milestone before year-end

Celltrion said Wednesday it expects a series of key research and clinical milestones over the next year.

Preclinical data for its next-generation obesity treatment is due later this year, and initial clinical results from several oncology drug candidates are scheduled for the first half of next year.

According to Celltrion, it plans to disclose preclinical findings for its world’s first quad-agonist obesity drug candidate CT-G32 in November and submit an investigational new drug, or IND, application with authorities by February next year.

Celltrion shared that CT-G32 delivered greater weight loss and better preservation of lean body mass than a triple-agonist obesity therapy currently under development by a global pharmaceutical company in the earlier preclinical studies.

The company is also developing an oral multi-target obesity therapy, which it hopes to submit an IND for in the second half of 2028. Additional long-acting obesity treatments and therapies for sarcopenia, diabetes and other metabolic diseases are also under development as part of its lifecycle management strategy.

On top of the obesity drug developments, Celltrion said it expects topline data from its antibody-drug conjugate, or ADC, pipeline to begin emerging next year as multiple candidates advance through Phase 1 clinical development.

According to the Korean biopharmaceutical firm, all four of its clinical-stage oncology assets – ADC candidates CT-P70, CT-P71 and CT-P73, along with the multispecific antibody candidate CT-P72 – have entered the patient dosing stage in Phase 1 studies. Two of the ADC candidates are scheduled to complete the first part of their Phase 1 trials by the end of this year, with topline data to be released sequentially from the first half of 2027.

“These milestones will represent an important turning point in demonstrating the company’s innovative drug development capabilities and the potential of its pipeline,” said a Celltrion official.

Celltrion invested about 482.4 billion won ($333 million) in research and development last year as it logged 4.16 trillion won in sales and 1.17 trillion won in operating profit in the same year.