Merck & Co. snagged a potential drug in the burgeoning market for obesity medications in a deal worth as much as $2 billion.

Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Hansoh Pharma (OTCPK:HNSPF) announced a global licensing deal on Wednesday to develop HS-10535, an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist targeted at weight loss and other cardio metabolic conditions.

U.S. drugmaker Merck on Wednesday signed a deal worth up to $2 billion with Hansoh Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize the Chinese biotech's experimental obesity drug.

Out with the old, in with the new. The end of the year in biopharma is typically marked by pipeline clear outs, and 2024 is proving that it’s no different. | In a day that already included discontinuations from Roche and Foghorn Therapeutics,

Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) revealed that it would discontinue the clinical development programs for vibostolimab and favezelimab. Vibostolimab is being evaluated as an investigational fixed-dose combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in the KeyVibe program.

Merck said on Monday it has discontinued the development of two experimental cancer drugs after their failure in several trials.

An FDA approval of Merck’s drug clesrovimab by June would give physicians another option for protecting newborns from respiratory syncytial virus.