Desk
Deals, patents, pricing and the business of making peptides at scale.
19 stories · latest 10 Nov 2026
The IND desk follows the business around peptide medicines: licensing deals and acquisitions, patents and their expiry, manufacturing capacity, list prices and the insurers and employers that decide who pays.
Deal values are reported the way the companies state them, with the upfront part kept apart from milestones that may never be paid. Survey and market figures carry the name of whoever produced them. Nothing on this desk is investment advice, and no story points readers to a seller.
Argenx will pay $550 million upfront and up to $595 million in milestones for Santa Cruz peptide developer Unnatural Products. No programs, targets or clinical candidates were disclosed, and closing is expected by the end of 2026.
SANTA CRUZ, CA
Novo Nordisk now plans to sell its Wegovy pill in more than 20 countries by mid 2027, not end 2027, after third quarter pill sales of DKK 5.39 billion beat forecasts. The launch plan and the raised outlook are company projections.
COPENHAGEN · Novo Nordisk Q3 2026 interim report, 4 Nov 2026, as reported by Reuters via Medical Dialogues
Eli Lilly will offer Zepbound and Foundayo through Hims & Hers at its standard self pay prices, eight months after Hims moved away from compounded GLP 1 drugs. Financial terms, timing and patient numbers were not disclosed.
INDIANAPOLIS · Eli Lilly and Hims & Hers joint press release, 6 Nov 2026
Kimberly-Clark CEO Mike Hsu says Rogaine is up 30% year to date and that GLP 1 adoption may be a driver. The company showed no buyer data, and doctors tie most shedding on these drugs to fast weight loss.
IRVING, TX · Kimberly-Clark third quarter 2026 earnings call, 5 Nov 2026, remarks by CEO Mike Hsu (call transcript)
Novo Nordisk says its Wegovy pill took about 80% of new U.S. prescriptions in the third quarter as it raised its 2026 outlook for a third time. The share figure is company reported, and U.S. Wegovy prices fell 30% to 35%.
BAGSVAERD, DENMARK · Novo Nordisk company announcement No 65/2026 (Q3 financial report) and Q3 earnings call, 4 Nov 2026
Jyske Bank expects Novo Nordisk to raise the floor of its 2026 outlook, and consensus puts third quarter Wegovy pill sales at 4.6 billion kroner. All figures are analyst estimates made before the release.
COPENHAGEN · ad-hoc-news.de preview citing Jyske Bank, Sydbank, Morningstar and Bloomberg consensus via Ekstra Bladet, 3 Nov 2026
Lilly's oral GLP 1 drug brought in $184 million in the third quarter, short of analyst forecasts. The company blames launch stocking and says U.S. demand more than tripled, while the Wegovy pill still leads on prescriptions.
INDIANAPOLIS · Eli Lilly third quarter 2026 earnings release, 29 Oct 2026; CFO comments and IQVIA data as reported by Chosun Biz, 2 Nov 2026
Torrent Pharmaceuticals says it hopes to sell semaglutide in Brazil within six to nine months after Brazil revenue rose 38% in rupees and 20% in local currency. No regulatory filing or approval has been disclosed.
AHMEDABAD · Medical Dialogues report on Torrent Pharmaceuticals Q2 FY27 earnings call, 26 Oct 2026, crediting The Hindu BusinessLine
NielsenIQ says the grocery baskets of people who stop GLP 1 drugs largely revert to non-user patterns within six to 11 months. Hy-Vee is betting on a dietitian-backed course, while trials show most people regain weight after stopping.
UNITED STATES · Food Dive report by Peyton Bigora, 30 Oct 2026, citing NielsenIQ, Numerator and Hy-Vee CEO Jeremy Gosch; trial context from JAMA Internal Medicine (SURMOUNT-4 post hoc, Nov 2025)
Dr Reddy's CFO says the company is counting on semaglutide and an abatacept biosimilar for its next growth phase. Supply stopped in July after an impurity in scale up API batches, and the new pen target is about half the old one.
HYDERABAD · Moneycontrol interview with CFO M.V. Narasimham, 25 Oct 2026; Dr Reddy's semaglutide update call transcript in SEC filing, 9 Jul 2026
PolyPeptide shareholders backed all board proposals, electing five directors and voting to remove transfer and voting limits. Each step depends on the Samsung Peptide AG tender offer, and the release gives no price or timing.
BAAR, SWITZERLAND · PolyPeptide Group AG media release on EGM results, distributed via EQS News, 26 Oct 2026
Eli Lilly's third quarter revenue rose 39% to $24.4 billion as Mounjaro and Zepbound sales grew faster than prices fell, and the company raised its 2026 revenue forecast for a third time. The figures come from a Dow Jones report.
INDIANAPOLIS · Dow Jones report on Lilly third quarter 2026 results, published on Morningstar, 29 Oct 2026
Eli Lilly sold 53% more medicine by volume in the third quarter while realized prices fell 15%, lifting revenue 39% to $24.4 billion. About $900 million came from one time items, and the higher 2026 forecast is the company's own.
INDIANAPOLIS · Eli Lilly third quarter 2026 earnings release and investor presentation, 29 Oct 2026
Corxel's merger with Amanat Acquisition Corp takes only its oral obesity candidates public, leaving stroke drug JX10 with a private parent. CX11 data so far come from company summaries without a placebo figure.
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ · Corxel US and Amanat Acquisition Corp joint press release, 26 Oct 2026; BioPharma Dive interview with Corxel US CFO Kevin Xie, 26 Oct 2026
The 2026 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey finds 18% of firms with 200 or more workers cover GLP 1 drugs for weight loss, flat on last year, while more covering firms now require lifestyle programs or counselling.
SAN FRANCISCO · KFF 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, published 22 Oct 2026; Business Group on Health survey as reported by SHRM, 25 May 2026
Corxel Pharmaceuticals and Amanat Acquisition Corp signed a business combination agreement expected to bring about $377 million before costs, to fund a global phase 3 obesity programme for the oral GLP 1 drug CX11.
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ · Corxel and Amanat Acquisition Corp joint press release, 26 Oct 2026, filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99.1 to Amanat Form 8-K
Heineken told British pubs that GLP 1 weight loss drugs could cut beer and cider sales and urged half pints and low alcohol options. Rivals see a smaller effect, and controlled data come mainly from a trial in alcohol use disorder.
LONDON · Heineken presentation to UK hospitality customers, reported by Reuters and The Guardian, 23 Oct 2026
With patent protection ending in markets such as India and Canada, manufacturers lined up their own semaglutide. Making a 31-amino-acid peptide at scale is not the same as copying a pill.
NEW DELHI · Company announcements and national patent records
Roche agreed to co-develop and co-commercialise Zealand Pharma's long-acting amylin analogue, one of the largest partnership payments yet for an obesity peptide still in mid-stage trials.
BASEL, Switzerland · Roche and Zealand Pharma joint announcement
