AstraZeneca will push the pill, elecoglipron, into a comprehensive late-stage program that will test the drug as a monotherapy, as part of a combination regimen and for several indications.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot expects the company’s late-stage oral weight loss asset elecoglipron to go toe-to-toe with current leading therapies—at least enough to warrant an expansive late-stage program.
“We have a very competitive profile,” Soriot told reporters during a media call Tuesday morning for the company’s full-year 2025 earnings report. “We would not move into Phase 3 and unleash all this investment for monotherapy, combination, cardiovascular outcome trials, which you can imagine is not inexpensive . . . if we didn’t believe in the product.”
But the U.K. pharma was fairly mum on the details, announcing that elecoglipron, an oral GLP-1 drug, met the primary endpoints in the Phase 2 VISTA study of patients with overweight and obesity with at least one comorbidity, and in the Phase 2 SOLSTICE trial in type 2 diabetes. With these mid-stage results, the company is putting elecoglipron through a comprehensive Phase 3 program slated to start this year.
On the earnings call, Soriot declined to provide specific data for elecoglipron, instead saying that findings will be presented at the upcoming American Diabetes Association congress in June.
Outside of elecoglipron, AstraZeneca’s obesity push received a $1.2-billion boost just over a week ago when the pharma partnered with Hong Kong’s CSPC Pharmaceutical, gaining global rights to a long-acting dual-agonist of GLP-1 and GIP receptors. AstraZeneca will also be able to work with CSPC on up to seven other programs, leveraging the biotech’s sustained-release technology and AI-driven engine.
All told, the pharma will be on the hook for up to $18.5 billion, including R&D and sales milestones across all programs.
AstraZeneca’s revenues hit $58.74 billion in 2025, an 8% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates. Cancer remained its top unit, accounting for 44% of total earnings and surging 17% to hit $25.62 billion. Tagrisso, an oral kinase blocker indicated for lung cancer, made $7.254 billion while the PD-L1 inhibitor Imfinzi brought in $6.063 billion.
Growth was driven strongly by the breast cancer antibody-drug conjugate Enhertu, which saw a 40% year-on-year uptick to bring in $2.78 billion. Meanwhile, sales of the oral breast cancer drug Truqap surged 68% to hit $728 million.
The diabetes drug Farxiga, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, was AstraZeneca’s best-selling product in 2025, making $8.41 billion.
The pharma expects total revenue to continue growing in 2026, hitting a mid-to-high single-digit percentage increase.
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