Obesity and GLP-1 Deals 2026: Who Is Licensing What, and Why
Obesity deal value is at a record while deals for classic GLP-1 targets have dried up. We track 11 verified 2026 obesity licensing deals, the sales behind them and the mechanisms buyers are now paying for.
Executive Summary
Obesity is still one of the most valuable areas in biopharma dealmaking, but what buyers want has changed. The two incumbents have launched pills and higher doses, so another injectable GLP-1/GIP agonist is a harder sell. In the first half of 2026, J.P. Morgan counted only three deals aimed at GLP-1 and GIP receptors, yet obesity and diabetes partnerships overall set a record. The money is going to new mechanisms, oral molecules, longer-acting formats and RNA medicines.
This page tracks the obesity deals in our verified 2026 licensing log, the sales and approvals that shape them, and the 2025 deals that set up this year. For the full licensing market see our biotech licensing deal tracker; for every deal in one searchable table, the pharma deals database.
The Market: Sales and New Oral Drugs
Company-reported sales of the leading incretin drugs, as disclosed in each company’s results:
| Product | Company | 2025 sales | H1 2026 sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mounjaro (tirzepatide) | Eli Lilly | $23.0B (+99%) | $18.6B (+106%) |
| Zepbound (tirzepatide) | Eli Lilly | $13.5B (+175%) | $9.1B (+60%) |
| Ozempic (semaglutide) | Novo Nordisk | DKK 127.1B (+10% CER) | — |
| Wegovy (semaglutide) | Novo Nordisk | DKK 79.1B (+41% CER) | — |
Lilly reports in US dollars, Novo Nordisk in Danish kroner; growth is year on year (CER: constant exchange rates). Novo reports Wegovy injectable and Wegovy pill separately for 2026, and obesity care as a whole grew 24% at CER to DKK 46.5 billion in the first half.
Pills and higher doses arrive
- Wegovy pill: the FDA approved oral semaglutide 25 mg on 22 December 2025, the first oral GLP-1 for obesity. Novo launched it on 5 January 2026; by mid-July weekly US prescriptions exceeded 265,000, and it sold DKK 3.2 billion in the second quarter.
- Foundayo (orforglipron): the FDA approved Lilly’s once-daily oral GLP-1 on 1 April 2026; Lilly reported $98 million of sales in the second quarter.
- Higher doses: Novo launched Wegovy HD in the US in April 2026 and a 7.2 mg single-dose pen in the UK in June.
Deal Flow: Value Up, GLP-1 Targets Down
J.P. Morgan’s analysis of DealForma data shows two opposite trends in the first half of 2026:
$22.0B
Announced value of obesity and diabetes R&D partnerships in H1 2026 — already above full-year 2025 — with $1.3 billion of upfront cash and equity.
3 deals
GLP-1, GLP-1R and GIP-targeted transactions in H1 2026, with only $100 million of disclosed value, after elevated activity in 2023 and 2025.
What the split means
2026 Obesity Licensing Deals
Obesity and metabolic licensing, collaboration and option deals announced in 2026 with a disclosed total of $1 billion or more or an upfront of $100 million or more — 11 so far, newest first. Each was checked against the linked source.
| Date | Buyer ← licensor | Upfront | Potential total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct | AstraZeneca ← insitroAI-enabled discovery in MASH and cardiomyopathies | $40M | Up to ~$1.5B |
| 13 Oct | Roche ← Rona Therapeutics (China)ALK7-targeting RNAi for obesity | Up to $100M upfront & near-term | Up to ~$1.16B |
| 29 Sep | Novo Nordisk ← Jiangsu Hengrui (China)HRS-1596, oral GLP-1/GIP dual agonist | $300M | Up to $2.6B |
| 24 Sep | Roche ← Atavistik BioAllosteric small molecules for cardiometabolic disease | $70M | Up to ~$1.97B |
| 17 Sep | Novo Nordisk ← Orbis MedicinesOral macrocycles for cardiometabolic disease | Undisclosed | Up to $1.4B |
| 24 Aug | Genentech (Roche) ← Hanmi PharmaceuticalHM17321, CRFR2-selective urocortin-2 analog for obesity | $190M | Up to ~$2.3B |
| 6 May | GSK ← SiranBio (China)SA030, siRNA for cardiometabolic disease | Undisclosed | Up to ~$1.0B |
| 5 May | Madrigal ← Arrowhead PharmaceuticalsARO-PNPLA3, siRNA for MASH | $25M | Up to $1.0B |
| 11 Feb | Madrigal ← Ribo Life Science (China)Six preclinical siRNA programs for MASH | $60M | Up to ~$4.4B |
| 30 Jan | AstraZeneca ← CSPC Pharmaceutical (China)Eight obesity and type 2 diabetes programs incl. SYH2082 (GLP-1R/GIPR) | $1.2B | Up to $18.5B |
| 6 Jan | Eli Lilly ← Nimbus TherapeuticsOral obesity program | $55M upfront & near-term | Up to ~$1.3B |
Verified through 19 Oct 2026. “Up to” values include milestones that may never be paid.
What Buyers Are Licensing
Grouping the 2026 deals by mechanism shows how far the market has moved beyond injectable incretins:
| Mechanism | Deals | Licensors |
|---|---|---|
| RNAi / siRNA | 4 | Rona Therapeutics, SiranBio, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Ribo Life Science |
| Oral small molecule | 3 | Atavistik Bio, Orbis Medicines, Nimbus Therapeutics |
| Incretin (GLP-1/GIP) | 2 | Jiangsu Hengrui, CSPC Pharmaceutical |
| AI-enabled discovery | 1 | insitro |
| Non-incretin hormone | 1 | Hanmi Pharmaceutical |
- Incretins, but differentiated: the two incretin deals are a once-monthly injectable portfolio (CSPC to AstraZeneca) and an oral GLP-1/GIP agonist (Hengrui to Novo Nordisk).
- Oral small molecules: Lilly (Nimbus), Novo Nordisk (Orbis) and Roche (Atavistik) all licensed oral or small-molecule programs.
- New hormones: Genentech paid $190 million upfront for Hanmi’s CRFR2-selective urocortin-2 analog.
- RNA medicines: siRNA and RNAi programs for obesity, MASH and cardiometabolic disease drew 4 deals, including Roche–Rona (ALK7) and Madrigal’s two MASH licences.
The 2025 Deals That Set Up 2026
2025 brought the amylin and multi-agonist deals, and the two acquisitions, that shaped this year’s market:
| Date | Deal | Asset | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | AbbVie ← Gubra | Amylin analog (licence) | $350M upfront; up to $1.875B milestones |
| Mar 2025 | Roche ← Zealand Pharma | Petrelintide, amylin analog (collaboration) | $1.65B upfront; up to $5.3B total |
| Mar 2025 | Novo Nordisk ← United Laboratories | UBT251, GLP-1/GIP/glucagon triple agonist (licence) | $200M upfront; up to $1.8B milestones |
| Jun 2025 | Regeneron ← Hansoh | HS-20094, GLP-1/GIP dual agonist (licence) | $80M upfront; up to $1.93B milestones |
| Oct 2025 | Novo Nordisk → Akero | Efruxifermin, FGF21 analog for MASH (acquisition) | $54/share cash (~$4.7B) + $6 CVR |
| Nov 2025 | Pfizer → Metsera | Injectable GLP-1 and amylin programs (acquisition) | $65.60/share cash + CVR up to $20.65 (~$10B) |
| Dec 2025 | Pfizer ← YaoPharma | YP05002, oral small-molecule GLP-1 (licence) | $150M upfront; up to $1.935B milestones |
Two patterns carried into 2026: amylin became the main non-incretin bet of 2025 (Roche–Zealand, AbbVie–Gubra, Pfizer’s Metsera acquisition), and Chinese licensors supplied many of the multi-agonist and oral GLP-1 assets (United Laboratories, Hansoh, YaoPharma).
China’s Role in Obesity Deals
5 of the 11 obesity and metabolic deals in our 2026 log involve a Chinese licensor: CSPC Pharmaceutical, Ribo Life Science, SiranBio, Jiangsu Hengrui and Rona Therapeutics. In 3 of them the licence covers rights outside China only, so the Chinese company keeps developing and selling the drug at home; the others are worldwide licences. Our China licensing opportunities guide analyses how those rights are split, and the China outbound tracker logs every large China deal.
Considering an obesity licence, in either direction? Our in-licensing and out-licensing teams work on both sides of these deals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the biggest obesity licensing deals of 2026?
By potential value, the largest in our log are AstraZeneca–CSPC Pharmaceutical (up to $18.5B), Madrigal–Ribo Life Science (up to ~$4.4B), Novo Nordisk–Jiangsu Hengrui (up to $2.6B) and Genentech (Roche)–Hanmi Pharmaceutical (up to ~$2.3B). AstraZeneca’s deal with CSPC also carried the largest upfront, $1.2 billion.
Are GLP-1 licensing deals slowing down?
Deals aimed specifically at GLP-1 and GIP receptors are. J.P. Morgan counted only three GLP-1, GLP-1R and GIP-targeted transactions, with $100 million of disclosed value, in the first half of 2026. Obesity and diabetes partnerships overall stayed strong at $22.0 billion of announced value, already above all of 2025 — buyers are paying for other mechanisms and formats.
How big are GLP-1 obesity drug sales?
Eli Lilly sold $23.0 billion of Mounjaro and $13.5 billion of Zepbound in 2025, and $18.6 billion and $9.1 billion in the first half of 2026. Novo Nordisk sold DKK 127.1 billion of Ozempic and DKK 79.1 billion of Wegovy in 2025.
Which oral GLP-1 drugs are approved for obesity?
The FDA approved Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill (oral semaglutide 25 mg) on 22 December 2025, launched on 5 January 2026, and Eli Lilly’s Foundayo (orforglipron) on 1 April 2026. Lilly reported $98 million of Foundayo sales in its first quarter on the market.
Why are pharma companies licensing obesity assets from China?
5 of the 11 obesity and metabolic licensing deals in our 2026 log involve a licensor based in mainland China or Hong Kong, including the year’s largest, AstraZeneca–CSPC, and Novo Nordisk’s licence of Hengrui’s oral GLP-1/GIP agonist. Chinese companies have built deep incretin and RNAi pipelines that buyers can license early, usually for rights outside China.
Methodology & Sources
The 2026 deal table is drawn from our verified licensing log: licensing, collaboration and option deals announced in 2026 in obesity and metabolic disease with a disclosed total of $1 billion or more or an upfront of $100 million or more. Mechanisms follow each announcement’s description of the asset. Sales are as reported by the companies; deal-flow totals are from J.P. Morgan’s analysis of DealForma data, which classifies deals by its own target and disease categories. Each deal links to its source.
Sources:
- Vision Lifesciences research: our own deal tracking and insights from our day-to-day cross-border licensing and M&A advisory work (about us)
- Company announcements for each deal, linked in the tables above
- J.P. Morgan, Q2 2026 Biopharma Licensing and Venture Report (DealForma data through 30 June 2026)
- Eli Lilly, fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results (4 Feb 2026)
- Eli Lilly, second-quarter 2026 results (5 Aug 2026)
- Novo Nordisk, financial statement for 2025 (Form 6-K)
- Novo Nordisk, financial report for the first six months of 2026 (Form 6-K, 4 Aug 2026)
- Healio, FDA approves orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 for adults with obesity (1 Apr 2026)