Pfizer Inc., which has a site in Groton, is moving forward with a weight-loss pill as the drugmaker seeks to crack the multibillion-dollar market for obesity medications and mount a comeback from its post-pandemic malaise.

The once-daily treatment, called danuglipron, will progress to a mid-stage study in the second half of this year, Pfizer said Thursday, having cleared a scientific hurdle in a small study. The next trial will be designed to find an ideal dose of the pill, Pfizer said, and the drug will move into the final stage of development if it succeeds.

Pfizer shares rose nearly 3% before paring back in early trading in New York.

The pill is designed as a needle-free alternative to popular weight-loss shots from Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. Pfizer has said it expects pills to eventually capture about a third of the obesity drug market, which analysts have predicted will grow to about $130 billion by the end of the decade. The pill is designed to mimic the effects of Novo’s blockbuster injectable semaglutide, sold as Wegovy and Ozempic.

Pfizer has struggled to make headway in treating obesity. Late last year, the company halted development of a twice-daily version of danuglipron after high rates of nausea and vomiting led patients to drop out of a mid-stage study of about 1,400 people. Months earlier, it abandoned another oral obesity drug that showed concerning liver effects in a trial.

The company is years behind Novo and Lilly, whose weekly Zepbound shot is poised for blockbuster sales after gaining US approval last year. Lilly also has an oral obesity treatment in the final stage of development. AstraZeneca Plc, Structure Therapeutics Inc., and other companies are also developing oral drugs.

Small study

Pfizer studied the once-daily version of danuglipron in a trial enrolling just 20 people, according a federal registry, testing four formulations of the drug to determine which might be most effective. The company did not disclose detailed results of the study, saying only that it was moving forward with one of them.

If the pill is successful it could ease some of the pressure on Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla, who has struggled to persuade investors that the company’s pipeline of medicines can eventually arrest its post-pandemic decline. Sales fell 20% in the first quarter of 2024 as demand plummeted for its Covid-19 vaccine and pill. Pfizer’s financial forecast for this year came in well below Wall Street’s expectations and its vaccine for RSV has underperformed.

Initial reaction from analysts remains muted, however. Pfizer’s long-awaited update on its obesity pill reveals little, and in a best-case scenario the drug could only be launched in 2028, “at which stage multiple competitors might be available,” said Sam Fazeli, director of research at Bloomberg Intelligence.

“Progress here has been slower than expected and offers nothing for now to assess potential competitive positioning,” Fazeli said.