Investing.com -- Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) has unveiled detailed strategy plans and clinical data for its experimental weight-loss injection, aiming to secure a foothold in a competitive market currently dominated by rivals. The New York-based pharmaceutical giant is working to catch up to industry leaders Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO), which have captured significant market share through their first-mover advantages.

Following earlier clinical setbacks, Pfizer revamped its metabolic pipeline through last year’s $10 billion acquisition of Metsera Inc. The company utilized the American Diabetes Association conference in New Orleans to present new data on berobenatide, the long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist peptide inherited from that transaction.

"We are entering a new era of internal medicine innovation," Chris Boshoff, Pfizer's chief scientific officer, said in an interview with Bloomberg ahead of the conference. In results from the Phase 2b VESPER-1 study, patients moving to the highest weekly dose achieved a 15.9% reduction in body weight over eight months without hitting a plateau.

Additional data from the VESPER-3 trial evaluating overweight or obese patients without diabetes showed that individuals receiving the highest dose every four weeks lost nearly 15% of their body weight after 14 months. Pfizer emphasized that the drug could become the first once-a-month therapy in its class, offering a distinct convenience advantage over weekly options like Zepbound and Wegovy.

"In Phase 2b studies, berobenatide delivered continuous, uninterrupted weight loss at all doses selected for Phase 3, while preserving a tolerable profile as people transitioned from a weekly to a monthly maintenance dose,” said Jim List, Pfizer's chief internal medicine officer in a Saturday press release. List noted that Pfizer’s commercial network provides an edge as obesity care shifts to primary-care physicians, telling Bloomberg, “We have primary care in our DNA.”

The drugmaker is preparing to advance more than 20 trials across obesity and related metabolic conditions in 2026, which includes 10 active and planned Phase 3 studies for berobenatide. Executives plan to evaluate the drug's impact on closely linked comorbidities such as sleep apnea and knee osteoarthritis, while expanding clinical trials internationally into China and Japan.

"Weight management is a lifelong commitment, and the barriers to staying on therapy long-term are just as important as the therapy itself,” said John B. Buse, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Buse added that if approved by regulators, berobenatide has the potential to be both practical and sustainable for patients in real-life settings.

To prepare for commercial distribution, Pfizer is leveraging its existing global manufacturing footprint, which includes eight sterile injectable facilities worldwide. "We are internalizing everything, because we can," Boshoff said in the interview, adding that berobenatide requires less active ingredient than rival therapies, which could streamline large-scale production.