Zealand Pharma outlines Metabolic Frontier 2030 strategy to become a generational biotech leader in obesity and metabolic health
Press release – No. 19 / 2025
Zealand Pharma outlines Metabolic Frontier 2030 strategy to become a generational biotech leader in obesity and metabolic health
- Zealand Pharma targets five launches, +10 clinical pipeline programs, and industry-leading cycle times from idea to clinic by 2030
- Catalyst-rich 2026 with multiple clinical readouts, including Phase 2 data with petrelintide in Q1 2026 and Phase 3 obesity data with survodutide throughout 2026
- New research site in Boston to combine our +25-year peptide heritage with AI-driven drug discovery, advanced automation, and next-generation molecule creation
Copenhagen, Denmark, December 11, 2025 – Zealand Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ZEAL) (CVR-no. 20045078), a biotechnology company transforming the future of metabolic health, today presents its strategy for redefining the near-term future of weight management and its vision to establish leadership in metabolic health at its Capital Markets Day in London. The Company will unveil its comprehensive strategy that combines strategic partnerships, accelerated drug development, and expanded research capabilities to build the world's most valuable metabolic health pipeline.
Zealand Pharma will target five launches, a robust clinical pipeline of more than ten programs, and industry-leading cycle times from idea to clinic by 2030. By leveraging its unrivaled peptide expertise, strengthened organization, and expanded global research capabilities, alongside advanced computational methods and partnerships, Zealand Pharma will accelerate its drug discovery process and expand its molecule-making toolbox. This strategic approach, combined with five anticipated launches from the existing pipeline and the Company's robust financial foundation, will optimally position Zealand Pharma to achieve leadership in metabolic health.
"Today marks a pivotal moment for Zealand Pharma as we unveil our aim to build a generational biotech company that will fundamentally transform how we treat obesity and metabolic disease," said Adam Steensberg, Chief Executive Officer of Zealand Pharma. "We are redefining weight management for a new era - moving beyond the Weight loss Olympics toward solutions that support the everyday needs, aspirations, and overall well-being of people living with overweight, obesity, and metabolic imbalance.
"Through Metabolic Frontier 2030 and beyond, we are committed to addressing some of the greatest healthcare challenges of our time. Our strategy is built to enable multiple waves of innovation in metabolic health - from our foundational amylin franchise to breakthrough approaches that will not only shatter the adherence ceiling observed with current medicines in obesity but deliver a world-class metabolic health pipeline.
"By establishing a cutting-edge Boston research site, we are putting advanced automation and AI to work alongside more than 25 years of unmatched peptide expertise to accelerate drug discovery and development, while expanding our molecule-making toolbox. This includes advancing oral small-molecule receptor agonists through our collaboration with OTR Therapeutics for validated targets within Zealand Pharma's established areas of biological expertise. Together, these initiatives - with more to come - enable us to deliver on our strategy and continue advancing innovative solutions for people with overweight, obesity, and metabolic imbalance."
The event today will feature speakers from Zealand Pharma's leadership team, alongside external experts and thought leaders in obesity and metabolism:
Zealand Pharma speakers
- Adam Steensberg, Chief Executive Officer
- Henriette Wennicke, Chief Financial Officer
- David Kendall, Chief Medical Officer
- Eric Cox, Chief Commercial Officer
- Utpal Singh, Chief Scientific Officer
External experts
- Dr. Carel Le Roux, MBChB, MSC, FRCP, FRCPath, PhD, Professor of Experimental Pathology at University College Dublin
- Jonathan Roth, PhD, Metabolic researcher and pioneer in amylin-leptin biology
- Louis J. Aronne, MD, FACP, DABOM, Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research at Weill Cornell Medical College
The Capital Markets Day will begin at 13:00 GMT and can be viewed via live webcast by registering here: https://zealand-pharma-capital-markets-day-dec-25.open-exchange.net/registration. A replay will be available on the company's website under Investors and Events & Presentations following the event.
About Zealand Pharma A/S
Zealand Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ZEAL) is a biotechnology company focused on advancing medicines for obesity and metabolic health. Combining more than 25 years of peptide R&D expertise with a proprietary data platform that leverages advanced data‑driven and AI/ML approaches, Zealand Pharma aims to lead a new era in obesity and metabolic health.
To date, more than ten Zealand Pharma‑invented drug candidates have entered clinical development, of which two products have reached the market and three candidates are in late-stage development. The Company has collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners for research, development, and commercialization.
Founded in 1998, Zealand Pharma is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a U.S. presence in Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.zealandpharma.com.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements", as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 in the United States, as amended, even though no longer listed in the United States this is used as a definition to provide Zealand Pharma's expectations or forecasts of future events regarding the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products, the timing of the company's pre-clinical and clinical trials and the reporting of data therefrom. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "possible," "potential," "will," "would" and other words and terms of similar meaning. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data presented. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions, which may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations set forth herein and may cause any or all of such forward-looking statements to be incorrect, and which include, but are not limited to, unexpected costs or delays in clinical trials and other development activities due to adverse safety events, patient recruitment or otherwise; unexpected concerns that may arise from additional data, analysis or results obtained during clinical trials; our ability to successfully market both new and existing products; changes in reimbursement rules and governmental laws and related interpretation thereof; government-mandated or market-driven price decreases for our products; introduction of competing products; production problems at third party manufacturers; dependency on third parties, for instance contract research or development organizations; unexpected growth in costs and expenses; our ability to affect the strategic reorganization of our businesses in the manner planned; failure to protect and enforce our data, intellectual property and other proprietary rights and uncertainties relating to intellectual property claims and challenges; regulatory authorities may require additional information or further studies, or may reject, fail to approve or may delay approval of our drug candidates or expansion of product labeling; failure to obtain regulatory approvals in other jurisdictions; exposure to product liability and other claims; interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; unexpected contract breaches or terminations; inflationary pressures on the global economy; and political uncertainty. If any or all of such forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied by such statements. The foregoing sets forth many, but not all, of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations in any forward-looking statement. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this company announcement and are based on information available to Zealand Pharma as of the date of this announcement. We do not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof. Information concerning pharmaceuticals (including compounds under development) contained within this material is not intended as advertising or medical advice.
Contacts
Adam Lange (Investors)
Vice President, Investor Relations
[email protected]
Neshat Ahmadi (Investors)
Investor Relations Manager
[email protected]
Rachel James-Owens (Media)
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Media Relations
Zealand Pharma
[email protected]
Amber Fennell, Jessica Hodgson, Sean Leous (Media)
ICR Healthcare
[email protected]
+44 (0) 7739 658 783
