China-based Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals has signed an exclusive licence with Italy's Menarini Group covering bofanglutide (GZR18), a self-developed GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) administered every two weeks, for the overweight and obese adult indication across 39 European territories including the 27 EU member states, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and the Balkans. The deal carries an EUR 62 million non-refundable upfront, up to EUR 664 million in R&D, regulatory, and sales milestones, and tiered double-digit percentage royalties on annual net sales, for a headline aggregate of EUR 726 million (USD 843 million), with Gan & Lee retaining all non-obesity indications and all ex-Europe rights.

Bofanglutide has completed Phase II in China, entered Phase II in the US in March 2025, and dosed its first patient in a Phase III obesity-with-obstructive-sleep-apnoea study in April 2026, positioning it as a potential first-to-market biweekly GLP-1RA versus weekly agents such as semaglutide and tirzepatide.

According to PharmCube's NextBiopharm® database, development of China-originated GLP-1/1R assets is gaining significant momentum. Click here to request a free trial for NextBiopharm®.