Pfizer Abandoned GLP-1 Drug in 1991, Delaying a $190 Billion Market

3 articles · Updated · The Daily Economy · Jun 25

Pfizer ended investment in a promising GLP-1 program in 1991 despite early human-trial evidence that it lowered blood glucose and slowed gastric emptying, a decision the report says pushed commercialization back by decades.
Senior leadership reportedly concluded there would never be another injectable diabetes therapy beyond insulin, leading the startup behind the compound to fold even as researchers saw convincing signs the drug worked.
The license stayed with the Boston hospital that discovered GLP-1’s mechanism and ran the trials, then passed to Novo Nordisk in 1992, where scientists eventually developed semaglutide—sold as Ozempic and Wegovy.
One in eight U.S. adults now take GLP-1 drugs, and the market has grown to about $190 billion, underscoring how Pfizer missed the broader obesity and weight-loss opportunity beyond diabetes.

Sources

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The Daily Economy15h ago

Pfizer Abandoned GLP-1 Drug Development, Delaying Ozempic Commercialization

Reuters15h ago

Pfizer ends development of weight-loss pill danuglipron | Reuters

Instagram15h ago

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Pfizer’s Billion-Dollar Miss: The GLP-1 Market, Its Early Exit, and the Rise of Novo Nordisk & Eli Lilly

Overview

Pfizer has struggled to keep up in the booming obesity market, facing major setbacks like discontinuing its oral GLP-1 candidate danuglipron in April 2025. This highlights the difficulty of developing oral GLP-1 drugs that can match the success of injectable versions from competitors. Despite falling behind, Pfizer is not giving up; the company is shifting its strategy by investing around $9 billion in mergers and acquisitions, including acquiring Metsera to expand its pipeline with ultra-long-acting obesity candidates. Pfizer now plans an aggressive development schedule, aiming to regain ground with new studies and innovative treatments.

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