Zealand Pharma
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.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersCopenhagen, Denmark
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
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.
Zealand Pharma firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Zealand Pharma
- Legal name
- Zealand Pharma A/S
- Website
- https://zealandpharma.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 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
Zealand Pharma industry classification
Industry- 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 primary industry
- Cardiometabolic Pharmaceuticals (Cardiovascular/Diabetes/Obesity) (HLAIAAAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Endocrinology & Metabolic Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAD), Gastroenterology & Hepatology Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAI)
Keywords
Where Zealand Pharma is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Copenhagen
- HQ country
- Denmark
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Zealand Pharma business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Zealand Pharma product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Zealand Pharma
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Zealand Pharma technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Zealand Pharma partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core/flagship and core.
- OTR TherapeuticsstrategicMulti-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/flagshipIn 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 CorpcorePartnership 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/flagshipPartnership 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
Zealand Pharma competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad 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
Zealand Pharma social profiles
Digital presenceZealand Pharma financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Zealand Pharma leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Zealand Pharma funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Zealand Pharma M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Zealand Pharma
What does Zealand Pharma do?
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.
Is Zealand Pharma a public or private company?
Zealand Pharma is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Zealand Pharma founded?
Zealand Pharma was founded in 1998. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Zealand Pharma based?
Zealand Pharma is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the Europe region.
How does Zealand Pharma make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Collaboration and Partnership Revenue is the primary driver. The others are milestone Payments and royalty Revenue.
Who are Zealand Pharma's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche and Sanofi. Viking Therapeutics is listed as a direct peer. Emerging players are Structure Therapeutics, Altimmune and Metsera. Gubra is listed as a regional player.
Does Zealand Pharma have an API?
No public API is recorded for Zealand Pharma.
What industry is Zealand Pharma in?
Zealand Pharma's product category is Peptide Therapeutics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAIAAAE, Cardiometabolic Pharmaceuticals (Cardiovascular/Diabetes/Obesity), with a secondary code of HLAIACAD, Endocrinology & Metabolic Specialty Pharmaceuticals. Its NAICS code is 32541 and its SIC code is 2834.