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Introduction & Market Context
Zealand Pharma A/S ADR (NASDAQ:ZEAL) presented its Q1 2025 financial results on May 8, 2025, highlighting its strategic focus on obesity treatments and the transformative impact of its recent partnership with Roche. The company continues to position itself in the rapidly growing obesity market, which it describes as "one of the greatest healthcare challenges of our time," with 50% of adults globally expected to have overweight or obesity by 2030.
The presentation emphasized that despite the significant market opportunity, only approximately 2% of eligible patients in the US currently receive prescriptions for weight loss therapy, underscoring the substantial unmet need for effective treatments.
As shown in the following slide detailing the obesity pandemic:
Quarterly Performance Highlights
Zealand Pharma reported Q1 2025 revenue of DKK 8.1 million, down from DKK 15.1 million in Q1 2024. The company’s net loss widened to DKK 313.8 million compared to DKK 228.6 million in the same period last year, primarily driven by increased research and development expenses, which rose to DKK 290.3 million from DKK 190.9 million in Q1 2024.
The financial results reflect Zealand’s strategic decision to heavily invest in its obesity pipeline, with R&D expenses accounting for 74% of total operating expenses in Q1 2025.
The company’s quarterly financial performance is illustrated in the following profit and loss statement:
Strategic Initiatives
Zealand Pharma has positioned itself with a differentiated mid- to late-stage obesity pipeline, including several promising candidates: petrelintide, petrelintide/CT-388, dapiglutide, and survodutide. The company is also progressing rare disease programs, including dasiglucagon for congenital hyperinsulinism and glepaglutide for short bowel syndrome.
The most significant strategic development is Zealand’s partnership with Roche for petrelintide, which includes co-development and co-commercialization with 50/50 profit sharing in the U.S. and Europe. This collaboration aims to establish a leading amylin-based weight management franchise.
The company’s strategic positioning is summarized in this slide:
Zealand is also strengthening its organization across multiple functions to support its growth trajectory. Key senior hires in 2025 include Utpal Singh as Chief Scientific Officer and Steven Smith as Senior Global Medical (TASE:BLWV) Advisor for Obesity, reinforcing the company’s commitment to its obesity-focused strategy.
The company’s comprehensive R&D pipeline across obesity, rare diseases, and inflammation is detailed below:
Detailed Financial Analysis
Zealand Pharma’s financial position has been significantly strengthened by the Roche partnership. As of March 2025, the company reported a cash position of DKK 8,544 million. Including the DKK 9,200 million (approximately USD 1.4 billion) payment from Roche, the pro forma cash position reaches approximately DKK 17,744 million.
This robust financial position allows Zealand to fund its ambitious R&D programs without needing to raise additional capital before reaching profitability, according to management.
The cash flow and financial position are illustrated in the following slide:
For 2025, Zealand Pharma has provided financial guidance for net operating expenses of DKK 2,000-2,500 million, compared to DKK 1,327 million in 2024. This guidance excludes transaction-related costs of approximately DKK 200 million related to the Roche collaboration announced in March 2025.
The 2025 financial guidance is detailed below:
Forward-Looking Statements
Zealand Pharma outlined an extensive pipeline of potential catalysts for the next 12 months. Key milestones include petrelintide subgroup analysis from Phase 1b trials and dapiglutide results from Phase 1b dose-titration trials expected at ADA 2025 in Q2 2025.
In the second half of 2025, the company anticipates completing Phase 3 obesity trials for survodutide, initiating Phase 2 trials for dapiglutide, and submitting a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency for glepaglutide.
Looking further ahead to H1 2026, Zealand expects topline results from the Phase 2 ZUPREME-1 trial for petrelintide, completion of the Phase 2 ZUPREME-2 trial, initiation of Phase 2 trials for petrelintide/CT-388, and topline results from Phase 3 obesity trials for survodutide.
The clinical development program for petrelintide, which is being co-developed with Roche, is outlined in the following slide:
The company’s upcoming news flow and potential catalysts are summarized below:
Zealand Pharma has also announced a Capital Markets Day scheduled for December 11, 2025, in London, which will feature management presentations and external experts in the obesity field.
With its strengthened financial position from the Roche partnership, Zealand Pharma appears well-positioned to execute its ambitious clinical development programs despite increasing R&D expenses and widening near-term losses. Investors will be closely watching the upcoming clinical milestones to assess the potential of the company’s obesity pipeline in an increasingly competitive market.
Full presentation:
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