Press release – No. 18 / 2025
Zealand Pharma and OTR Therapeutics enter multi-program strategic collaboration and license agreement to develop novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases
- Collaboration will combine Zealand Pharma’s expertise in obesity and metabolic health with OTR Therapeutics’ proprietary oral small-molecule platform and strong drug discovery capabilities, to discover and develop novel therapeutics for multiple targets in metabolic diseases
- OTR Therapeutics will receive an initial upfront payment of USD 20 million, which may increase to USD 30 million under certain pre-agreed conditions, and is eligible for potential preclinical, development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, for a potential total consideration of up to USD ~2.5 billion, with the majority representing commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties
Copenhagen, Denmark, December 11, 2025 – Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) (CVR-no. 20045078), a biotechnology company transforming the future of metabolic health, and OTR Therapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to transforming early-stage innovations into globally impactful therapies for unmet medical needs, today announce a multi-program strategic collaboration and license agreement to discover and develop novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases.
The collaboration brings together Zealand Pharma’s deep expertise in obesity and metabolic health with OTR Therapeutics’ proprietary R&D platform, scientific rigor, and unique strengths in speed, efficiency, and quality - supported by strong ties to regional R&D networks - to develop transformative treatment options for millions of people living with metabolic diseases. By pursuing next-generation therapeutics, we will meaningfully expand treatment options.
"We are excited to partner with OTR Therapeutics. The multi-program collaboration will expand our metabolic health pipeline into oral small-molecule therapeutics for targets where we have deep biological expertise, complementing our strong peptide R&D platform," said Utpal Singh, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Zealand Pharma. "This partnership is an early testament - with more to follow - to the execution of our updated strategy to further strengthen and evolve our platform, broadening treatment options for people living with overweight, obesity, and other metabolic diseases. We look forward to presenting our comprehensive strategy for how Zealand Pharma aims to build the world's most valuable metabolic health pipeline at our Capital Markets Day later today. We are confident the partnership with OTR Therapeutics will be highly productive in achieving our shared goal of expanding treatment options for people living with metabolic diseases."
“We are thrilled to partner with Zealand Pharma, a company renowned for its legacy and expertise in metabolic diseases,” said Zhui Chen, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of OTR Therapeutics. “This collaboration represents a strong endorsement of our proprietary platform and strategic vision, and our proven ability to drive innovation and deliver quality and speed in execution. By combining our strengths in innovative drug discovery and development with Zealand Pharma’s deep expertise in the disease area, we are well positioned to discover potentially transformative therapies for patients worldwide.”
Terms of the agreement
Under the terms of the agreement, OTR Therapeutics and Zealand Pharma will co-discover and co-develop innovative therapies for multiple targets in metabolic diseases. OTR Therapeutics will leverage its proprietary discovery platform to lead and conduct research and preclinical development. Zealand Pharma will assume responsibility for clinical development, regulatory submissions, and commercialization worldwide.
OTR Therapeutics will receive an initial upfront payment of USD 20 million, which may increase to USD 30 million under certain pre-agreed conditions, and is eligible for potential pre-specified preclinical, development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments. The potential total consideration is up to USD ~2.5 billion, with the majority representing commercial milestones. OTR Therapeutics is also eligible to receive tiered single-digit royalties on worldwide net sales of any commercialized products resulting from the collaboration.
About Zealand Pharma A/S
Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) is a biotechnology company focused on advancing medicines for obesity and metabolic health. Combining more than 25 years of peptide R&D expertise with a proprietary data platform that leverages advanced data‑driven and AI/ML approaches, Zealand Pharma aims to lead a new era in obesity and metabolic health.
To date, more than ten Zealand Pharma‑invented drug candidates have entered clinical development, of which two products have reached the market and three candidates are in late-stage development. The Company has collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners for research, development, and commercialization.
Founded in 1998, Zealand Pharma is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a U.S. presence in Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.zealandpharma.com.
About OTR Therapeutics
OTR Therapeutics, launched in March 2025, is a biotechnology company dedicated to transforming early-stage innovations into globally impactful therapies for critical diseases with high unmet medical needs. With a strategic focus on oncology, immunology and inflammation, and cardiometabolic diseases, we discover and acquire distinctive assets in preclinical and early clinical stages, and accelerate their development into differentiated, clinically impactful treatments through our R&D hub built for speed, quality and efficiency. By combining scientific rigor with agile partnerships, we deliver exceptional value to our partners and patients worldwide. From our advanced R&D center in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, we actively collaborate with a network of global partners across the US, Europe, and Asia. For more information about OTR Therapeutics, please visit www.otr-tx.com.
Contacts
Adam Lange (Investors)
Vice President, Investor Relations
alange@zealandpharma.com
Neshat Ahmadi (Investors)
Investor Relations Manager
neahmadi@zealandpharma.com
Rachel James-Owens (Media)
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Media Relations
Zealand Pharma
RJamesOwens@zealandpharma.com
Amber Fennell, Jessica Hodgson, Sean Leous (Media)
ICR Healthcare
ZealandPharma@icrhealthcare.com
+44 (0) 7739 658 783
