AstraZeneca, a big name in the drug world, has decided to buy SixPeaks Bio, a small company working on obesity treatments. This deal was announced in their recent financial report. On October 22nd, AstraZeneca paid $170 million for the shares they didn’t already own. They will pay an extra $30 million in two years and could pay up to $100 million more if the new drugs meet certain health authority approvals. SixPeaks Bio started last year with $30 million in funding and a deal that allowed AstraZeneca to buy them at a set price. The CEO of SixPeaks, Phillip Larsen, said that having this deal early was important because making heart and blood vessel drugs is very expensive. This deal is part of a strategy where a larger company helps start a small one with the plan to buy it later. This can be helpful when it’s hard to get money from investors or through public offerings. With this buy, AstraZeneca gets research on obesity drugs that help people keep their muscle mass, which can be lost with other obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound. These drugs work on something called activin receptors, which may help cut fat while keeping muscle. AstraZeneca doesn’t sell obesity treatments yet, but they have been working on it. They have three drugs in early testing stages. AstraZeneca has been interested in this area for a while and has made other deals with companies like Regeneron and Eccogene. Alex Mayweg, a director at Versant who was on SixPeaks’ board, said that AstraZeneca is very motivated to win in this area. Other big drug companies are also working on obesity treatments. However, making drugs that help keep muscle mass has been challenging. Eli Lilly and BioAge Labs have both stopped testing some of their drugs due to safety concerns. The FDA, which approves drugs in the U.S., has said these drugs need to show they can help people lose weight too.