Zealand Pharma

What Zealand Pharma does

Zealand Pharma A/S is a Danish biotechnology company founded in 1998 and headquartered in Søborg, Greater Copenhagen, with a planned U.S. research hub in Boston. The company focuses on the discovery, design, and development of peptide-based and small molecule therapeutics targeting metabolic diseases (primarily obesity and overweight), rare diseases (congenital hyperinsulinism and short bowel syndrome), and chronic inflammation. Its core technology is a validated peptide engineering platform with over 25 years of expertise in peptide chemistry, formulation, and intellectual property, which has already produced two approved products marketed by Sanofi and Novo Nordisk.

The clinical pipeline comprises eight candidates across multiple stages: Petrelintide (long-acting amylin analog, Phase 3), Survodutide (glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonist licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim, Phase 3), Dasiglucagon continuous infusion for congenital hyperinsulinism (registration stage), Glepaglutide for short bowel syndrome (Phase 3), ZP9830 Kv1.3 ion channel blocker for chronic inflammation (Phase 1), ZP6590 GIP receptor agonist (preclinical), and Petrelintide/CT-388 fixed-dose combination with Roche (Phase 1); Dapiglutide is paused for portfolio management. Differentiated clinical data — including 10.7% body weight reduction with placebo-like tolerability for petrelintide and 16.6% weight loss at 76 weeks for survodutide — anchor the pipeline's competitive positioning.

Zealand operates an asset-light, partnership-driven business model. It does not commercialize products directly; instead it monetizes through upfront payments, development and regulatory milestones, and tiered royalties via co-development and licensing agreements with major pharmaceutical partners, most notably Roche (USD 5.3 billion petrelintide deal, March 2025), Boehringer Ingelheim (survodutide, partnership initiated 2011), DEKA Research & Development Corp (continuous infusion pump for dasiglucagon), and OTR Therapeutics (multi-program metabolic collaboration, December 2025, up to USD 2.5 billion potential consideration). Reported FY 2025 revenue was DKK 9.22 billion versus DKK 63 million in FY 2024, reflecting the Roche deal economics, and the company ended the period with a cash position of DKK 15.11 billion. Zealand Pharma is publicly listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen under ticker ZEAL.

Name

Zealand Pharma

Legal name

Zealand Pharma A/S

Website

https://zealandpharma.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Zealand Pharma is a Danish biotechnology company developing peptide-based therapeutics for metabolic diseases including obesity and rare conditions. Founded in 1998, it partners with Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim to develop and commercialize its clinical-stage pipeline.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Peptide Therapeutics

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (32541), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAIAAAE

Cardiometabolic Pharmaceuticals (Cardiovascular/Diabetes/Obesity)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Pharmaceuticals/Branded (Innovator) Pharmaceuticals

SECONDARYHLAIACAD

Endocrinology & Metabolic Specialty Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Pharmaceuticals/Specialty Pharmaceuticals

SECONDARYHLAIAAAI

Gastroenterology & Hepatology Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Pharmaceuticals/Branded (Innovator) Pharmaceuticals

Keywords

• Peptide therapeutics
• Metabolic disease drugs
• Obesity treatments
• Rare disease therapies
• Clinical stage biotechnology

Headquarters

HQ city

Søborg

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Collaboration and Partnership Revenue: Zealand Pharma generates revenue primarily through collaboration agreements with pharmaceutical partners. The landmark Roche partnership for petrelintide in March 2025 drove revenue of DKK 9.22 billion in 2025, up from DKK 63 million in 2024. Revenue includes upfront payments, milestone payments, and future royalty streams.
2. Milestone Payments: The company receives milestone payments tied to clinical, regulatory, and commercial achievements. Outstanding milestones include up to EUR 315 million from Boehringer Ingelheim for survodutide, and up to USD 700 million in potential milestone payments from Roche during 2026 including USD 575 million tied to initiation of Phase 3 trials for petrelintide.
3. Royalty Revenue: Future royalty revenue expected from product sales. Boehringer Ingelheim agreement includes tiered royalties ranging from high single-digit to low double-digit percentages on potential global sales of survodutide.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zealand Pharma is a biotechnology company that discovers, designs, and develops peptide-based and small molecule therapeutics for metabolic health. The company focuses on obesity and related comorbidities as its primary indication, with additional pipeline candidates targeting rare diseases including congenital hyperinsulinism, short bowel syndrome, and chronic inflammation. The company generates revenue primarily through strategic co-development and licensing partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies.

Product overview

Zealand Pharma is a biotechnology company developing peptide-based and small molecule medicines for metabolic health. The company's product portfolio consists of investigational therapeutics across multiple clinical stages, including: Petrelintide (amylin analog, Phase 3) for obesity partnered with Roche; Survodutide (glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonist, Phase 3) licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim; Dasiglucagon for congenital hyperinsulinism (near registration); Glepaglutide for short bowel syndrome (Phase 3); ZP9830 for chronic inflammation (Phase 1); ZP6590 (preclinical GIP agonist); and Petrelintide/CT-388 fixed-dose combination (Phase 1). The company also paused Dapiglutide development. This is not a software platform but a pipeline of peptide-based drug candidates at various development stages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Petrelintide

Quantifiable outcome

• Petrelintide achieved up to 10.7% mean body weight reduction at week 42 in Phase 2 ZUPREME-1 trial versus 1.7% for placebo
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core/flagship and core.

• OTR TherapeuticsstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Multi-program strategic collaboration and license agreement to discover and develop novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases. OTR Therapeutics leads preclinical research while Zealand handles global clinical development, regulatory submissions, and commercialization. OTR receives USD 20-30 million upfront plus potential milestones reaching approximately USD 2.5 billion and tiered single-digit royalties on worldwide net sales.
• Rochecore/flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2025In March 2025, Zealand Pharma and Roche entered a global collaboration and license agreement to co-develop and co-commercialize petrelintide and combination products, including a fixed-dose combination of petrelintide and CT-388 (Roche's GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist). The collaboration reflects shared vision to develop petrelintide as a future foundational therapy for weight management and establish the leading amylin-based franchise. Deal valued at up to USD 5.3 billion including upfront, milestones, and royalties.
• DEKA Research & Development CorpcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership with DEKA Research & Development Corp and affiliates to develop a continuous infusion pump to be used in combination with dasiglucagon for patients living with congenital hyperinsulinism. Agreement covers technical development of the pump system as well as associated manufacturing and commercialization activities.
• Boehringer Ingelheimcore/flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Partnership initiated in 2011 for development of drug candidates for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Survodutide (BI 456906), a glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist, is licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim with Boehringer solely responsible for global development and commercialization. Zealand Pharma eligible for up to EUR 315 million in outstanding milestone payments plus tiered royalties from high single-digit to low double-digit percentages on global sales.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Novo Nordisk: Danish-headquartered global leader in GLP-1-based obesity and diabetes therapeutics (Wegovy, Ozempic). Directly comparable as a peptide-platform company targeting the same cardiometabolic patient populations, with established global commercialization infrastructure that Zealand aspires to leverage through partnerships.
• Eli Lilly: Developer of Zepbound and Mounjaro (tirzepatide), a GLP-1/GIP dual agonist dominating the obesity market. Comparable to Zealand as a developer of peptide-based obesity therapeutics and as the primary competitive threat for both survodutide and petrelintide market positioning.
• Boehringer Ingelheim: Global pharmaceutical company holding worldwide development and commercialization rights to survodutide. Functions as both Zealand's largest commercial partner and a comparable large-cap pharmaceutical player operating in the obesity/metabolic disease space through in-house and partnered programs.
• Roche: Global pharmaceutical company that entered a $5.3B co-development/co-commercialization partnership with Zealand for petrelintide in March 2025. Comparable as both a strategic partner and a broad incumbent operating in cardiometabolic disease through internal programs (CT-388 GLP-1/GIP) and external partnerships.
• Sanofi: Global pharmaceutical company that markets an approved peptide product originated from Zealand's platform. Comparable as a large-cap incumbent in cardiometabolic disease and as the commercializer of validated peptide therapeutics developed through Zealand's discovery platform.

Direct peers

• Viking Therapeutics: U.S.-based clinical-stage biotech developing peptide-based therapeutics for metabolic diseases, including VK2735 (a GLP-1/GIP dual agonist) for obesity. Closely comparable to Zealand as a similarly-sized peer competing in the next-generation obesity peptide space with Phase 2/3 assets.

Emerging players

• Structure Therapeutics: Clinical-stage company developing oral and injectable peptide-based therapeutics for obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Comparable to Zealand as a smaller peptide-focused peer targeting GLP-1/amylin mechanisms with similar clinical-stage positioning.
• Altimmune: U.S.-based clinical-stage biotech developing pemvidutide, a GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist for obesity and MASH. Directly comparable to Zealand as a competing developer of dual-agonist peptide therapeutics in the same metabolic disease space.
• Metsera: Emerging clinical-stage obesity biotech developing next-generation peptide-based injectable and oral therapeutics. Comparable to Zealand as a competing newer entrant in the obesity peptide space with overlapping mechanisms and similar commercial-scale aspirations.

Regional players

• Gubra: Danish peptide-focused biotech developing therapeutics for metabolic and fibrotic diseases. Comparable to Zealand as a fellow Denmark-headquartered peptide platform company with overlapping obesity pipeline candidates and similar scientific heritage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zealand-pharma
• Xx.com/ZealandPharma

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zealand Pharma