Abbvie Inc. is buying into the obesity fray in a potential $1.875 billion development and commercialization agreement with Danish peptide drug discovery specialist Gubra A/S. In addition, there will be a $350 million up-front payment as Abbvie takes over the reins of GUB-014295 (referred to as Gubamy),

The licensing deal could set the US drugmaker to vie with Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S, the current leaders in a market that's expected to reach $130 billion in annual sales by 2030

Key Takeaways AbbVie agreed to license a weight-loss drug in development from Danish biotech firm Gubra.AbbVie said it will pay up to about $2.2 billion for the drug GUBamy, which is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

AbbVie inked a licensing deal Monday worth up to $2.23 billion for an amylin-targeting obesity treatment from Denmark-based Gubra A/S.

AbbVie ABBV announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Denmark-based biotech Gubra for the latter’s experimental obesity drug, GUB014295. This marks the American drugmaker’s foray into the lucrative obesity market.