Metsera stock surged Monday after the drugmaker unveiled "solid" results for a potential monthly shot to stoke weight loss.
Roughly a month after a five-week study, patients treated with Metsera's drug lost up to 8.4% more body weight than those given a placebo. Metsera's drug targets amylin, a hormone secreted with insulin. It plays a role in regulating glucose and appetite.
"In our opinion, a ~4.5% weight loss at week 5 is quite reasonable for an amylin," Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat said in a report.
Metsera stock jumped more 10.6%, closing at 30.39 on today's stock market. Earlier, shares rocketed as much as 28%, hitting a record high.
Metsera Plans Combination Approach
Metsera is now preparing to test a combination of its amylin- and GLP-1-focused drugs.
GLP-1, a hormone tied to reducing appetite and improving blood sugar markers, is a backbone target of most weight-loss regimens, including Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound.
Raffat noted a study from AbbVie and Gubra complicates Metsera's results. Over six weeks, patients who received the amylin drug from AbbVie and Gubra lost about 9.8% more body weight than the placebo group. But he pointed out that the study was longer and the companies didn't report the side effects of their drug.
In comparison, Metsera said three out of eight patients had vomiting. Nausea rates were higher. But those results were without titrating the drug. Titrating involves slowly increasing a drug's dosage to lessen the risk of side effects.
Long Half-Life For Obesity Drug
Importantly, Metsera's drug stays in the body for 19 days. In the study, patients received weekly shots of the drug. But the drug's long half-life in the body suggests it could also work as a monthly shot.
In another report, Raffat noted Metsera could compete well against Amgen, which is studying its shot as a monthly dose. Metsera's drug uses a smaller dosage — and therefore volume — than Amgen's.
Overall, he called Metsera's results "solid."
"Ultimately, the question now is: should the Metsera amylin be considered a GLP-1 add-on … or is the amylin a foundational regimen (especially given the weight loss profile)," he said in a report.
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