Novo Nordisk agreed to license Hengrui Pharma’s once-weekly oral dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, HRS-1596, paying $300 million upfront and up to $2.6 billion in milestones for global rights outside Hengrui’s home territory. The deal underscores the industry's push to move beyond daily injections toward convenient oral dosing in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Separately, Novo’s broader obesity strategy continued to take shape at business-development speed, with the HRS-1596 asset positioned as Phase 1-ready. Novo will develop, manufacture and commercialize the therapy globally (excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), while Hengrui retains control in those regions. In parallel, the market reinforced interest in amylin-based metabolic combinations: Lilly’s eloraTZP, an amylin-incretin regimen, produced up to 23.3% weight loss in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes in data highlighted at EASD26. Together, the deals and trial readouts point to a widening race for differentiators beyond weight-loss magnitude—especially dosing convenience and metabolic improvements.