Merck Buys Its Way Into The Weight-Loss Pill Wars: China's Hansoh Pharma Now A "Partner"...

I realize that I probably make this observation a lil' too often here, but. . . whenever any US multinational partners on a commercial matter, with a domestic Chinese company. . . there is always an added layer of geo-political risk. Not so much from any "hot" war, but more from creeping "state actor" control -- as both Tesla and Apple have seen, over decades. Even so, this is a race well-worth running.

This global weight loss market is going to mushroom, to be well over $100 billion in just a few years. And as compared to 30 plus years of thrice weekly dialysis, the cost advantage seems clear to insurers and other payors. Here's the latest, from CNBC, as Novo stumbles:

. . .[Merck] on Wednesday said it has snagged the rights to an experimental weight loss pill from Chinese drugmaker Hansoh Pharma, in a deal worth up to $2 billion.

The oral drug has not yet entered human trials, and Merck did not specify which diseases it plans to test the drug on first. Still, it boosts the pharmaceutical company’s chances of winning a slice of the booming obesity drug market, which some analysts expect to be worth more than $100 billion a year by the early 2030s. . . .

This pill route will be pricey, but still cheaper in the long run -- given that many people with other illnesses, exacerbated by obesity, are living longer and longer in the US.

And, an all oral delivery route has the distinct advantage of being easier for "needle-adverse" patients to warm up to. So we will watch and see -- but a smart move, out of Rahway. Be excellent to one another!

नमस्ते