Roche pens $2.5B pact for Hanmi’s clinical-stage obesity drug targeting less-explored mechanism

Biotech Roche pens $2.5B pact for Hanmi’s clinical-stage obesity drug targeting less-explored mechanism By James Waldron Aug 24, 2026 4:42am Roche Hanmi Pharmaceutical Licensing deals Obesity Roche has taken its obesity strategy into uncharted territory via a $190 million upfront payment for a clinical-stage UCN2 (urocortin-2) analog from South Korea’s Hanmi Pharm. UCN2 is a signalling protein that is elevated in people with chronic heart failure. The mechanism was explored by Eli Lilly in a heart failure drug that was scrapped back in 2019.

Researchers have known for decades that UCN2 can in principle reduce rates of muscle atrophy, and Roche is betting that Hanmi’s drug, dubbed HM17321, will be able to deliver on this promise. In return for the $190 million upfront fee and the potential for up to 2.3 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, Roche’s Genentech unit has secured the global rights to HM17321, excluding South Korea. Hanmi is also in line for tiered royalties on sales.

Reducing weight while maintaining muscle mass is one of the key goals of the next generation of obesity treatments. Roche has its own candidate in the running for this prize in the form of emugrobart, an anti-latent myostatin sweeping antibody that is designed to increase muscle mass and is undergoing a phase 2 study in combination with Lilly’s Mounjaro. In this morning’s release, Hanmi explained that HM17321’s non-incretin mechanism of action means the therapy could become a “first-in-class treatment designed to simultaneously promote weight loss and preserve lean body mass.” “While existing GLP-1-based incretin therapies have demonstrated meaningful weight reduction, these therapies are associated with a reduction in lean body mass,” the Korean biotech pointed out.

“The paradigm of obesity treatment is evolving beyond simple weight reduction toward improving body composition and restoring metabolic health,” In-Young Choi, head of Hanmi’s R&D division, said in the release. “We are very pleased that the differentiated scientific mechanism and development potential of HM17321 have been recognized by the global market,” Choi added. Roche is planning to explore HM17321’s potential to treat not only obesity but also associated conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The companies noted that HM17321 has alreay been linked to weight reduction when used as a monotherapy and in combination with GLP-1-based therapies in preclinical testing. Hanmi has since taken HM17321 into a phase 1 trial of healthy volunteers and individuals with obesity. The biotech will complete this study before Genentech takes over for phase 2 development and beyond.

Roche stepped up its obesity ambitions last year, including a bold goal of becoming one of the “top three” companies operating in the weight loss space. That strategy included an aim of taking the dual GLP-1/GIP receptor enicepatide to market by 2030. There’s also another Carmot asset in phase 2 studies in the form of an oral GLP-1 dubbed CT-996.

Then there’s petrelintide, Zealand Pharma’s long-acting amylin analog that Roche is partnering on. “With our growing cardiometabolic pipeline and strong diagnostic expertise, Roche is advancing a portfolio designed to meet the diverse needs of people living with obesity and related health conditions,” Head of Roche Corporate Business Development Boris Zaïtra said in the release. “By licensing this next-generation investigational therapy with first-in-class potential from Hanmi, Roche and Genentech will pursue a differentiated approach to selectively reduce fat mass while improving both muscle mass and muscle function,” Zaïtra added.

Hanmi has been busy this year, buying Canadian cancer biotech Aptiose Biosciences as well as licensing out a phase 2-stage GLP-2 agonist to Lilly for $75 million upfront as a potential treatment for short bowel syndrome. Roche Hanmi Pharmaceutical Licensing deals Obesity weight loss Biotech