How To Capture Growth In The Expanding Metabolic Drug Market

By Dr. Andrew Lewis, Dr. Andreas Reichl, and Matt Paterson, Quotient Sciences

R&D investment in metabolic diseases, especially for obesity, now rivals oncology, fueled by the success of GLP-1 agonists and soaring obesity rates (quadrupled in men and tripled in women between 1975 and 2022). The global obesity treatment market is projected to reach up to $100 billion by 2030.

The most attractive goal is an oral formulation of GLP-1 for obesity, but developers face significant challenges in optimizing formulation (e.g., solubility, bioavailability, permeation enhancers) and clinical trial execution. Trials must be carefully designed to minimize patient burden and maintain retention over long study periods.

To succeed in this highly competitive and lucrative market, developers must rapidly overcome these challenges, often by choosing integrated partners. Companies like Quotient Sciences offer a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, end-to-end approach, integrating formulation, manufacturing, and clinical trial activities. This integrated model provides greater control and agility, allowing for the concurrent execution of activities to accelerate the path to market, which is crucial given the complexity of developing new metabolic therapies.