Menarini signs $771M deal to take Gan & Lee GLP-1 to European market

Biotech Menarini signs $771M deal to take Gan & Lee GLP-1 to European market By Will Maddox Sep 4, 2026 11:00am GLP-1 Europe Licensing deals Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals Italian company the Menarini Group has agreed to pay Chinese insulin maker Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals €62 million ($72 million) up front to collaborate on the registration and commercialization of Gan & Lee’s GLP-1 bofanglutide. Gan & Lee will also be eligible to receive milestone payments of up to €664 million ($771 million), as well as double-digit royalties on sales, according to a release. Menarini will take over regulatory submissions and commercialization in a total of 39 countries, including the 27 European Union countries, the U.K., Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the Balkan countries.

“This partnership establishes a pivotal pathway for bofanglutide’s entry into the European market and marks another milestone in Gan & Lee’s transformation—from a leader in insulin to a global innovator in metabolic disease,” Wei Chen, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Gan & Lee, said in a Sept. 3 statement. Bofanglutide is administered subcutaneously once every two weeks, requiring half the administration frequency of once-weekly GLP-1s.

It completed a phase 3 study in China and a phase 2 study in the U.S. in patients who were overweight, obese or had Type 2 diabetes. Both studies met their primary endpoints, demonstrating weight loss and tolerability consistent with other GLP-1s.

Gan & Lee plans to initiate a global phase 3 trial to support registration in Europe and other highly regulated markets. The deal comes two years after Gan & Lee announced that bofanglutide outperformed Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic (semaglutide) in reducing glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and body weight in a phase 2 trial of patients with Type 2 diabetes. Related AstraZeneca returns to China's CSPC for $18.5B obesity deal While the partnership will extend Gan & Lee’s geographical reach, it is also designed to expand Menarini’s presence in the metabolic space and in innovative primary and specialty care sectors.

Elcin Barker Ergun, group CEO of Menarini, noted that the deal will leverage Menarini’s capabilities in the region. “Clinical study results for bofanglutide so far have demonstrated weight reduction, secondary metabolic benefits and a safety profile consistent with expectations for this class, while its once-every-two-weeks dosing regimen offers an opportunity for differentiation,” he said. GLP-1 Europe Licensing deals Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals The Menarini Group China Biotech