FILE: Pfizer’s then-headquarters in Manhattan, March 6, 2022. Photo: Ajay Suresh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; cropped.
Pfizer and Blackstone Life Sciences have agreed to a funding arrangement under which Blackstone-managed funds will pay up to $1.5 billion in development costs through 2028 for berobenatide, an experimental drug being studied as a once-monthly obesity treatment.
The companies announced the agreement Wednesday, November 11. Pfizer posted its release at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Berobenatide remains investigational: the announcement is a development-funding deal, not a regulatory approval or a treatment launch.
In exchange for the funding, Blackstone will be eligible for milestone-based payments tied to U.S. regulatory approval of monthly injectable berobenatide as a stand-alone treatment for chronic weight management and the achievement of specified commercial sales milestones. Any payments earned would be made over multiple years.
Blackstone is not acquiring rights or ownership in the drug. Pfizer retains full operational control and decision-making over the program. Funds managed by Blackstone’s perpetual private-equity strategy, BXPE, will invest alongside Blackstone Life Sciences funds.
Funding a Phase 3 Program
Berobenatide, also known as PF’3944, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist peptide. Pfizer said its 2026 development plans include 10 ongoing and planned Phase 3 trials for the drug, covering chronic weight management and obesity-related conditions including knee osteoarthritis and obstructive sleep apnea.
The company is studying berobenatide both on its own and in combinations with other hormone-based drug candidates. The funding announcement did not report new trial results or establish when a treatment could become available.
Pfizer said the agreement is intended to support its obesity program while preserving capacity to invest in its broader research pipeline. Clinical development and regulatory review still carry risks: the companies’ release warns that trial outcomes, approval timing and eventual commercial success remain uncertain.
Sources: Pfizer’s November 11 announcement and Blackstone’s announcement.
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