GLP-1s benefit Parkinson’s: Barclays sees implications across biopharma

Barclays cites potential implications across the biopharma sector after a mid-stage trial indicated that the diabetes drug lixisenatide, which belongs to a popular class of obesity drugs called GLP-1 agonists, benefited patients with Parkinson's disease.

The placebo-controlled trial involved 156 patients with Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by movement-related symptoms such as tremors and affects an estimated 10M people globally.

As published in The New England Journal of Medicine early this month, patients with Parkinson's who took lixisenatide, an injectable marketed by Sanofi (SNY), witnessed no worsening of their motor disabilities at 12 months.

Despite the relatively smaller sample size and a typical GLP-1-like adverse event profile, the effect on the trial's primary endpoint was "sizeable and clinically meaningful," Barclays analyst Carter Gould wrote.

GLP-1 space includes popular weight loss therapies such as semaglutide and tirzepatide from Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY).

Benefits of GLP-1s in Parkinson's and potential off-label use "could complicate the development of other Parkinson's agents going forward," the analyst added.

He expects more disruption to mid-stage assets such as Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and Denali's (DNLI) LRRK2 inhibitor, BIIB122, compared to late-stage or approved efforts such as those from AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV). The maker of the arthritis drug Humira launched its Parkinson's therapy Produodopa in the EU early this year.

With Novo Nordisk (NVO) studying semaglutide in Alzheimer's, the analyst argues that a positive readout in one neurodegenerative disorder could draw attention to the role of GLP-1s in similar neurological conditions.

In 2021, the Danish drugmaker launched two trials testing its GLP-1 agonist in thousands of patients with early Alzheimer's, expecting to report results by 2025.

"At a high level, we'd argue positive data that expands the potential breadth of indications for the class is positive for LLY," Gould wrote.