{"id":3428,"date":"2026-09-05T17:31:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T17:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/?p=3428"},"modified":"2026-09-05T17:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T17:31:02","slug":"new-obesity-treatment-in-development-a-first-of-its-kind-approach-from-genentech-and-hanmi-pharm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/new-obesity-treatment-in-development-a-first-of-its-kind-approach-from-genentech-and-hanmi-pharm\/","title":{"rendered":"New Obesity Treatment in Development: A First-of-Its-Kind Approach from Genentech and Hanmi Pharm"},"content":{"rendered":"

A potential new treatment for obesity<\/a>, called HM17321, is being developed by Genentech (a part of the Roche Group) and Hanmi Pharm. Unlike current obesity medications that work by mimicking a natural hormone<\/a> called GLP-1, HM17321 uses a different approach. It is an analog\u2014a man-made version\u2014of a natural substance called urocortin-2 (UCN2), which helps regulate weight and metabolism in a unique way. This makes it the first treatment of its kind to work through this non-GLP-1 mechanism. Currently, HM17321 is being tested in early-stage clinical trials to see if it can help with long-term weight management and related health issues like obesity. The agreement between Genentech and Hanmi Pharm is worth up to $2.3 billion. Under this deal, Genentech will take the lead in developing the treatment further in Phase II trials. Hanmi Pharm, which is based in South Korea, will receive $190 million upfront and may also earn royalties from future sales. Another major pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, has also licensed a GLP-1-based treatment from Hanmi Pharm for a different condition called short bowel syndrome, in a deal worth $1.2 billion. In-Young Choi, a senior executive at Hanmi Pharm, explained that the goal of obesity treatment is shifting from just reducing weight to improving overall body composition and metabolic health. HM17321 could be a game-changer because it may help people lose fat while preserving muscle mass, unlike current GLP-1-based treatments, which often lead to muscle loss along with fat loss. HM17321 is a peptide-based therapy, meaning it is made from small chains of amino acids. This structure allows for potential future use in combination with other treatments, including GLP-1-based medications. Boris Zaitra, Head of Roche Corporate Business Development, emphasized that this new therapy could offer a unique solution by reducing fat while improving muscle mass and function. Roche and Genentech are excited to develop this treatment further to address the unmet needs of people living with obesity and other metabolic diseases, leveraging Roche\u2019s expertise in diagnostics and cardiovascular<\/a> and metabolic health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A potential new treatment for obesity, called HM17321, is being developed by Genentech (a part of the Roche Group) and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pharmaceutical-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3428"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3436,"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3428\/revisions\/3436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allesleypharmacy.co.uk\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}