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Pfizer said on Thursday it would advance a reworked, once-a-day version of its experimental obesity pill, danuglipron to clinical trials in the second half of this year, sending its shares 5% higher in premarket trading.
The drugmaker last year said it was focusing on danuglipron's development after scrapping a separate, once-daily pill due to concerns about liver safety.
Pfizer was testing both a once-daily modified-release dosing and also a twice-daily form of danuglipron.
It said early study results supported a once-daily dosing, with a safety profile consistent with prior danuglipron twice-daily dosage studies, including no liver enzyme elevations observed in more than 1,400 healthy adult volunteers.
The Pfizer drug is part of the second-generation of weight loss pills, under development by companies including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk that will offer patients more convenient dosing instead of injections.