Pfizer licenses YaoPharma’s GLP-1 pill candidate to re-enter obesity drug race

Global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has struck an exclusive licensing deal with Chinese company YaoPharma to develop and commercialise a new oral weight-management drug, YP05002, belonging to the GLP-1 agonist class. The compound is currently in early (Phase 1) clinical testing. Under the agreement, YaoPharma will complete the existing trial, then grant Pfizer worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and market the treatment. As part of the deal YaoPharma will receive a US$150 million upfront payment and could earn up to US$1.94 billion in milestone payments plus royalties if the drug reaches the market.

The collaboration marks a strategic return to the obesity drug field for Pfizer after the company discontinued internal GLP-1 programmes — including lotiglipron in 2023 and danuglipron earlier this year — due to liver safety concerns. The agreement also follows Pfizer’s recent acquisition of Metsera, reinforcing its ambition to build a broad obesity and metabolic-disease pipeline that includes both injectable and oral therapies. Pfizer indicated it may test YP05002 in combination with other candidates already in its portfolio.

YaoPharma, founded in 1939, is a well-established Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturer with a full drug-development, API and finished-dose manufacturing capacity, and a track record of exporting to the US and EU. The company has increasingly pivoted toward innovation including small molecules for metabolic disease. The licence deal with Pfizer could mark a turning point for YaoPharma’s global ambitions.