Pfizer said on Tuesday its experimental obesity drug Acquired via Metseradrives solid weight loss Take once a month in mid-stage trials.

“The data are very good and what we want to be clear about is that our monthly product has very competitive characteristics in terms of tolerability and efficacy,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC on Tuesday.

In the ongoing Phase 2 study, patients who were obese or overweight lost 12.3% of their body weight at week 28 compared to placebo. When all patients were analyzed, regardless of whether the drug was discontinued, the injections were associated with weight loss of up to 10.5%.

The company said no plateau was observed after patients transitioned to monthly dosing, suggesting continued weight loss is expected as the study continues through week 64.

The data provide early evidence that the shot can be administered less frequently than existing drugs without sacrificing efficacy, which could be a major boost for Pfizer after several setbacks in developing obesity drugs. it is trying to enter market dominance go through Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordiskof weekly injections, there is a strong new entrant Novo’s Daily Pill.

While it’s unclear how much market share Pfizer could cut into once the vaccine becomes available, monthly dosing could provide a more convenient option for patients.

Pfizer executives told CNBC that patients already taking the injectable GLP-1 drug are less likely to switch to a daily oral treatment, believing they would prefer less frequent injections to maintain weight loss.

Dr. Jim List, Pfizer’s chief internal medicine officer, told CNBC that “weekly injections are not suitable for everyone” because some patients need to travel and cannot refrigerate the shots.

Pfizer’s shot “will help expand the market, help democratize weight loss, which is what we need, and enable patients to have a maintenance option that is more convenient for many of them,” Lister said. But he added that Pfizer’s philosophy is that patients will benefit from several different products in the obesity drug market, whether it’s a weekly or monthly injection or an oral option.

Pfizer plans to move forward with 10 Phase 3 trials of its shot, called PF’3944, this year. During Pfizer’s earnings call late Tuesday, the company’s chief scientific officer Chris Boshoff said models predict that the higher monthly injection dose Pfizer plans to use in its late-stage trial could result in a 16% weight loss at week 28.

Bourla told CNBC that the higher dose will produce efficacy and tolerability data that are “probably best in class and therefore better than anything else.”

Pfizer announced results on the same day Announces fourth quarter earnings and revenue This exceeded expectations. Pfizer shares closed down nearly 3% on Tuesday.

The company’s injection is an ultra-long-acting GLP-1 drug, meaning it remains active in the body longer than existing treatments like Novo’s Wegovy. Pfizer is developing it as a weekly and monthly injection, as well as in combination with other treatments that target different gut hormones.

In the trial, patients started with weekly injections for 12 weeks, then moved to monthly injections.

The study was designed to test whether different doses of the drug could help patients continue losing weight after switching from weekly to monthly injections. It also examined whether higher doses of the drug could be given monthly while maintaining patient tolerance.

The drug is generally well tolerated by patients, and most gastrointestinal side effects are reported to be mild or moderate. This is consistent with other GLP-1 drugs.

Pfizer said no new safety concerns have arisen.

The company said it has selected two dosing regimens – a monthly low maintenance dose and a medium maintenance dose – to be tested in the Phase 3 trial. Across both dosing regimens of the Phase 2 trial, five patients discontinued treatment due to side effects during the weekly phase of the trial, while another five patients discontinued the drug during the monthly phase.

in a A separate mid-stage trial was conducted last yearMetsera said the highest-dose shot showed an average weight loss of up to 14.1% after 28 weeks of dosing.