Dammet har lagt sig efter årets upplaga av JPMorgan Healthcare Week i San Francisco – det årliga ”bioteknikens Super Bowl” där tonen sätts för det kommande året. Medan gatorna runt Union Square surrade av den fortsatta hypen kring GLP-1-tabletter och jättarna inom viktminskning, pågick en parallell jakt bakom stängda dörrar: sökandet efter nästa generations behandlingsformer mot fetma. BioStock talade med Pila Pharmas VD Gustav H. Gram för att höra hans tankar om eventet.

I detta globala strålkastarljus på metabola sjukdomar bjöds Pila Pharma in för att presentera sitt case på JPM Biotech Showcase. I takt med att bolaget gör framsteg inom fetmaområdet med sin orala läkemedelskandidat och TRPV1-hämmare, XEN-D0501, reste de till Kalifornien med ett tydligt budskap: framtidens framgångsrika viktminskningsbehandlingar kommer att bestå av många olika modaliteter, och utgöras av mycket skalbara, orala och småmolekylära lösningar som är både säkra och tillgängliga. Vetenskapligt rör sig Pila Pharma i en annan riktning än de peptidbaserade injektionerna som för närvarande dominerar marknaden. Bolagets huvudkandidat XEN-D0501 är en liten molekyl som riktar in sig på TRPV1-receptorn – ofta kallad ”chili- eller capsaicinreceptorn”. Denna mekanism erbjuder ett potentiellt paradigmskifte: en oral, icke-hormonell tablett med en annorlunda och potentiellt fördelaktig säkerhetsprofil. Pila Pharma går in i 2026 med starkt momentum; en företrädesemission som genomfördes förra sommaren för att möjliggöra satsningen på fetma blev kraftigt övertecknad, med hela 293,5 procent – ett tydligt styrkebesked och tecken på investerarnas förtroende i en annars utmanande kapitalmarknad. Bolaget inväntar nu resultat från en preklinisk studie och planerar kliniska studier inom både fetma och diabetes som potentiellt kan bli avgörande värdedrivare för bolaget.

Q&A med Pila Pharmas vd

BioStock fick en pratstund med Gustav H. Gram efter hans hemkomst från JPMorgan Healthcare Week för att diskutera stämningen i San Francisco, industrins intresse för nya verkningsmekanismer inom viktkontroll, samt hur Pila Pharmas nuvarande strategi togs emot av det internationella investerar- och läkemedelskollektivet.

Welcome back from San Francisco! J.P. Morgan Week is often described as the "Super Bowl of Biotech." How would you describe the atmosphere this year compared to previous years, and what was the most palpable trend in the corridors?

– The sentiment is positive but cautious. There were some large fundraises and deals announced in the week up to the conference. But in general, it seems that there are also some concerns within the industry. First with regards to a future regulatory framework with the FDA, that has had large personnel cuts and what that could do for review timelines. – Secondly the rise of Chinese innovation and the cheaper deals from there. Modality wise there’s still a lot of focus on oncology as well as the next-generation oral therapies for obesity and its comorbidities, even if there’s a lot of companies increasingly competing for the GLP-1 and amylin space.

You were there amidst a booming global interest in obesity treatments. Did you notice an elevated interest specifically in metabolic diseases this year, and how did that impact the visibility for Pila Pharma?

– For our own part, the week also saw the launch week of an oral GLP-1, which signals a new paradigm in how we treat obesity and overweight, opening up access to medication for a much larger part of society for which the medicine has not previously been attainable due to price. However, we still see the obvious need for even more scalable solutions with simple chemistry that can further lower the price and expand access. It’s the signs of true democratization of medication, circumventing the middlemen, which has not previously been seen in the US, so its very interesting times. – The implications it can have on insurance coverage for injectable solutions will also be interesting to follow. But overall, we had a lot of positive reactions and interest based on our very differentiated approach.

You presented at the Biotech Showcase on January 13th. What were the key messages you wanted to convey to investors and potential partners this time around?

– It was a continuation of our ongoing awareness building campaign, to make investors and pharma representatives aware of the company and our approach by targeting TRPV1. Overall, the sentiment presented was that the sector is moving in direction of simpler solutions, that match with the increasing business-to-consumer market dynamics that we see occurring now. – For this paradigm shift, the winning solutions will be the ones that not only deliver good weight loss or maintenance but also address the tolerability issues that lead to high discontinuation rates. This can be solutions that target other pathways than gut hormones for example. And furthermore, we foresee that solutions with increasingly simple chemistry and manufacture, can increasingly undercut price and gain market share in the consumer segment whilst retaining acceptable profit margins. We probe that our solution could offer much of that, and largely that received positive feedback and interest.

BioStock recently highlighted how Pila "stands out" among next-generation obesity treatments. Did this specific message—an oral TRPV1 antagonist—resonate with the audience? What kind of reactions did you get regarding your differentiation strategy?

– Mostly there was a bit of GLP-1 fatigue, I think! So, it was refreshing for many to hear about the approach and discuss the future development plan where we’re setting sights to clinical studies in obesity and diabetes. – Most American investors, in particular, have a higher risk-appetite threshold, and were in agreement that the oral market will largely comprise of more than oral GLP-1 analogues. The search is on for future alternative solutions, and it certainly seemed like many I met with would keep a close eye on our future developments. Ultimately it will be the science that drive further interest going forward, but it’s important to be get on the map early.

JPM Week is heavily focused on networking and partnering. Without naming names, what was the general level of interest from larger pharmaceutical companies? Are they actively looking for new mechanisms of action now that the GLP-1 market is becoming more established?

– Yes. Many have voiced their intentions to be part of the sector, but also that they are not looking for “the next GLP-1 copycat”. And there’s a lot of focus from certain companies to protect their established market share too! – There’s a lot of buzz around new targets that have more of a direct anti-inflammatory nature, and luckily TRPV1 falls into this category, so we’re confident and hopeful that we can produce clinical data that will be of interest to companies in the space. As we approach a big patent cliff for many companies toward 2030s, the M&A appetite seems to increase.

What are the "Big Pharma" players looking for right now—is it mostly late-stage data, or are they showing a willingness to engage with promising mechanisms in early clinical phases, like yours?

– It varies. Some value super early-stage discovery/preclinical partnerships where they can define the development from scratch, but of course it comes with long timelines. It’s worth keeping in mind that we have a lot of clinical safety and efficacy data with our molecule, as it has been dosed to 300 humans already, so it’s not truly early stage. – We anticipate that with the right efficacy data it could be attractive as a mid-stage candidate, and as a small molecule it could potentially be combined with other drugs like a small molecule GLP-1 for example, paving way for potentially optimized weight loss profiles, balanced safety profiles or both. So, we’re confident and will stay focused on progressing the candidate in the clinic.

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