After tumors and autoimmune diseases, the rapidly emerging weight loss sector is the most significant variable affecting the global pharmaceutical industry landscape in the coming years.
The arms race surrounding the weight loss sector has become one of the highest priority research topics for many pharmaceutical giants, with related mergers and BD transactions showing extremely active states.
Just last September, Pfizer acquired the biotech company Metsera, which was established only a little over three years ago, for an astonishing $7.3 billion to gain access to its portfolio of weight loss drug pipelines.
For Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies, there have also been multiple instances of external BD for weight loss drug pipelines with upfront payments exceeding $100 million in the past year, with buyers including Novo Nordisk, Merck, and Regeneron among several large multinational pharmaceutical companies.
However, this may just be a prelude; the glorious chapter belonging to Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies in the strategic weight loss drug sector is still brewing.
<h2>Safer ActRII Monoclonal Antibody</h2>
On September 29, 2025, an ActRII monoclonal antibody LAE102 from the Chinese biotech company LAEKNA (02105) announced its Phase I clinical MAD study data.
This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study aimed at evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of LAE102 administered subcutaneously in overweight/obese subjects.
The results of this study have encouraged everyone following this pipeline.
On one hand, in the MAD trial, a trend of muscle gain and fat loss was observed with LAE102: in the 5th week, subjects in the 6mg/kg dose group of LAE102 had an average increase in lean body mass of 1.7% compared to baseline, while average fat mass decreased by 2.2%; after adjusting for the placebo control group, the average increase in lean body mass reached 4.6%, and average fat mass decreased by 3.6%.
On the other hand, LAE102 demonstrated significant potential in terms of safety.
During this Phase I MAD study, no serious adverse events occurred, and most adverse events during treatment were mild (Grade 1) laboratory abnormalities, with no reports of diarrhea, muscle cramps, or acne cases throughout the process.
This safety result is consistent with previously disclosed safety assessment data for LAE102, with no new safety signals observed.
Previously, as a star target in the weight loss sector, the efficacy of Activin Receptor Type II (ActRII) in fat loss and muscle gain has been convincingly validated, but safety remains a concern.
At the ADA conference in 2025, Eli Lilly first disclosed the results of its Phase 2b clinical study of the ActRII-targeting antibody Bimagrumab combined with semaglutide for overweight and obesity indications.
From the perspective of weight loss effects, the data is stunning: after 72 weeks of treatment, the Bimagrumab monotherapy group lost 10.8% of body weight, but 100% of this came from fat, with a muscle gain of 2.5%; the semaglutide treatment group lost 15.7% of body weight, but only 71.5% came from fat, with a muscle loss of 7.4%; the combination treatment group lost 22.1% of body weight, with 92.9% coming from fat, and only a muscle loss of 2.9%
Currently, the most popular weight loss drug globally, Tirzepatide, showed an average weight loss data of 20.2% at 72 weeks in the SURMOUNT-5 global clinical study.
This means that the combination of &#34;ActIIR + GLP-1&#34; has the strength to compete with Tirzepatide in terms of weight loss effectiveness.
At the same time, ActIIR-targeted drugs have significant muscle-building capabilities, which most GLP-1 drugs do not possess.
After 72 weeks of administration, patients treated with Bimagrumab alone had an average increase in lean body mass of 2.5% compared to baseline.
However, Bimagrumab seems to have flaws in terms of safety and tolerability.
The main adverse reactions of Bimagrumab include diarrhea, muscle cramps, or cases of acne, with a diarrhea rate exceeding 40% in the case of monotherapy, muscle cramps reaching 46% in the low-dose group, over 73% in the high-dose group, and the acne rate around 30% to 40%.
In contrast, in the clinical trials of LAEKNA, no cases of diarrhea, muscle cramps, or acne have been found so far, which is a significant difference from Bimagrumab.
This indicates that LAEKNA has a substantial potential advantage in safety and is likely to become the &#34;best in class&#34; among ActRII-targeted drugs.
<h2>Potential Buyers</h2>
As one of the only two ActRII-targeted drugs entering clinical trials for weight loss indications, the latest clinical research data of LAE102 greatly increases the probability of business development for this drug.
Eli Lilly, which has heavily invested in the ActRII target, has reached a clinical trial collaboration agreement with LAEKNA regarding LAE102.
In November 2024, LAEKNA signed a clinical cooperation agreement with Eli Lilly, where Eli Lilly will be responsible for conducting a Phase I clinical trial of LAE102 in the United States and will bear the related costs, while LAEKNA retains global rights to LAE102.
Clearly, as a commercial company, Eli Lilly's decision to fund the clinical trial for LAE102 indicates significant interest in this pipeline, making deeper collaboration in the future a possibility.
Although Eli Lilly already has Bimagrumab, it does not mean they will stick to it exclusively.
In September, according to multiple media reports, Eli Lilly terminated a clinical trial of Bimagrumab used alone or in combination with Tirzepatide for the treatment of obesity or overweight in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Eli Lilly did not provide detailed explanations for the termination, only stating it was &#34;based on strategic business reasons.&#34;
Regardless of the specific reasons, this event indicates that Bimagrumab's position in Eli Lilly's pipeline is not absolutely unshakeable, and Eli Lilly is making trade-offs in its investment in this pipeline.
In addition to safety factors, LAE102 has a significant advantage over Bimagrumab.
Although it is a &#34;new star&#34; in the weight loss arena, the molecule Bimagrumab has a long history of development
As early as 2013, Bimagrumab received FDA's &#34;Breakthrough Therapy&#34; designation for the treatment of sporadic inclusion body myositis.
By 2030, the patent for Bimagrumab will expire.
Therefore, for Eli Lilly, it will face a rather awkward prospect: it may encounter a patent cliff 2-3 years after Bimagrumab is officially approved for market.
In contrast, LAEKNA's LAE102 is still very &#34;young,&#34; with a patent expiration date in 2042, providing ample time for commercialization after the drug is launched.
Thus, LAE102 has better safety potential, superior lean body mass gain capability, and a longer patent validity period.
The probability of reaching a BD deal with Eli Lilly always exists.
Of course, Eli Lilly is not the only potential buyer.
Take Novo Nordisk as an example; the company's flagship drug semaglutide is currently losing ground in the competition with tirzepatide, and the company's stock price has been severely affected.
However, Novo Nordisk does not have better options in the short term.
Given the compelling clinical data validating the combined effect of semaglutide and Bimagrumab, introducing a ready-made and potentially safer ActRII-targeted drug to form a combination therapy with semaglutide is clearly a worthwhile option for Novo Nordisk to consider seriously.
In fact, as &#34;fat loss + muscle gain&#34; has become a new clinical paradigm in the field of weight management, almost all multinational pharmaceutical companies that have laid out weight loss drugs have reasons to quickly build supporting muscle gain drug pipelines; otherwise, they may be at a disadvantage in future market competition.
<h2>Expectations for BD</h2>
In September 2025, LAEKNA successfully completed a placement on the Hong Kong stock market, raising a net amount of HKD 578 million, of which nearly 90% will be invested in R&amp;D.
Previously, there were rumors in the market that LAEKNA's financing was due to poor clinical data performance.
The release of the MAD clinical study data has also shown that the aforementioned rumors are purely unfounded.
In fact, for any unprofitable biotech company, financing is as crucial as R&amp;D until it possesses significant self-sustaining capabilities.
The ability to continuously raise massive funds needed for R&amp;D not only reflects a biotech company's core capabilities but also signifies that its differentiated value is highly recognized by the capital market.
After the completion of this placement, LAEKNA's cash on hand exceeded 1.2 billion, further enriching its R&amp;D funds.
This is undoubtedly a significant piece of good news, providing the company with sufficient funds to advance R&amp;D while also giving it more confidence in BD negotiations, maintaining selectivity when assessing potential cooperation structures, and ensuring the alignment of interests among all parties to maximize the global commercial value of related pipelines.
Regarding external cooperation for LAE102, LAEKNA has always maintained an open and pragmatic attitude, stating that it is actively consulting with multiple potential partners and plans to seek partners with serious commitments and financial strength who are willing to prioritize this project to accelerate the clinical development and commercialization process of LAE102
In addition to the ActRIIA-targeting LAE102, LAEKNA also has the ActRIIB-targeting antibody LAE103, as well as the dual-target antibody LAE123, which fully corresponds to Bimagrumab and targets both ActRIIA and ActRIIB.
Given the significantly high probability of drug development for the ActRII target in overweight/obesity indications, it would not be surprising if LAE103 and LAE123 catch the attention of multinational pharmaceutical companies.
The three pipelines mentioned above could also be packaged together for business development, which is a possibility.
Considering that Eli Lilly acquired Bimagrumab for a transaction price of $1.9 billion, there is every reason to expect that, at some point in the future, LAEKNA will contribute a major business development deal to China's innovative drug industry.
Beyond the ActRII pipelines, LAEKNA also has LAE002, which is quite noteworthy.
LAE002 is a potent AKT inhibitor that can inhibit all three AKT subtypes (AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3). According to public data, LAE002 has several advantages over other AKT inhibitors, including higher efficacy, better pharmacodynamics, more significant tumor suppression exposure, and improved safety.
In the first half of 2026, LAE002 is expected to submit a listing application. As one of the only two anti-tumor AKT inhibitors in critical clinical development stages globally, this pipeline also has expectations for external business development.
This article is sourced from the &#34;Pharmaceutical Investment Tribe&#34; WeChat public account; edited by Chen Xiaoyi of Zhitong Finance

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The weight loss sector is becoming an important variable in the global pharmaceutical industry, attracting the attention of many pharmaceutical giants. Pfizer's acquisition of the biotech company Metsera for $7.3 billion demonstrates the active merger and acquisition trend in this field. China's LAEKNA has also made progress in the development of weight loss drugs, with its ActRII monoclonal antibody LAE102 showing potential for muscle gain and fat loss, as well as good safety in Phase I clinical trials, possibly becoming a future winner

- The weight loss sector is emerging as a significant variable impacting the global pharmaceutical industry, with major companies prioritizing research and development in this area.  
- Pfizer's recent acquisition of Metsera for $7.3 billion highlights the active mergers and partnerships in weight loss drug development, particularly among Chinese biotech firms.  
- LAE102, a promising ActRII monoclonal antibody from Chinese biotech, shows potential safety advantages and efficacy in weight loss, increasing its attractiveness for future collaborations and partnerships.

In the weight loss sector, will LAEKNA become the biggest winner with the next heavyweight BD?