Over the past five years, there have been notable improvements in both weight loss and glucose-lowering effectiveness within the class of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). Despite this, there is still room for improvement in tolerability and cost.

During the session, The VESPER-1 OLE, -2 and -3 Trials of Berobenatide (MET-097, PF-08653944) an Ultra-Long-Acting GLP-1 Receptor Agonist for Weight Management, a panel of experts will discuss insights from the VESPER program. Results from phase 2 trials are pending but will be presented at the 2026 Scientific Sessions. The symposium will be held on Saturday, June 6 from 8:00–9:30 a.m. in Great Hall A of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. On-demand access to recorded presentations will be available to registered participants following the conclusion of the 2026 Scientific Sessions, from June 10–August 10.

“Berobenatide, the investigational product in the VESPER program, was specifically designed to be cost-efficient to manufacture with efficacy equivalent to best-in-class options and better tolerability,” said John B. Buse, MD, PhD, the Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill, who will discuss results from the open-label extension of VESPER-1 and the primary endpoint results from VESPER-3.

Both VESPER-1 and VESPER-3 are investigating berobenatide in adults with obesity or overweight with a comorbidity without diabetes. VESPER-1 focuses on weekly dosing, while VESPER-3 examines monthly dosing. VESPER-2 is distinct as it studies berobenatide specifically in adults with both obesity and type 2 diabetes. This symposium will highlight 28-week data from VESPER-2.

Berobenatide binds to albumin at a unique location, so-called “halo-lipidation,” which results in a long half-life of 360 hours. It is fully biased, primarily stimulating cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production rather than beta-arrestin activity.

Donna H. Ryan, MD, Professor Emerita at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, will provide commentary on the symposium and discuss the competitive landscape into which berobenatide will likely enter.

“The GLP-1 RA drugs are not just about weight loss. They also have properties that produce chronic disease modification, and not just for type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Ryan said. “The GLP-1 RA-class medications are demonstrating efficacy in modifying cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis), and neurodegenerative diseases—all the chronic diseases filling up our clinics. We are expecting berobenatide to have multiple studies exploring this in phase 3.”

Additional speakers include:

• Naveed Sattar, MD, PhD, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine and Honorary Consultant in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, who will discuss the scale of the growing crisis of obesity and overweight across the globe.
• Louis J. Aronne, MD, FACP, DABOM, the Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research and Director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, who will talk about designing MET-097 to scale medical treatment for weight management and give a summary of the berobenatide phase 2b program.
• Ildiko Lingvay, MD, MPH, MSCS, Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who will discuss the VESPER-1 open-label extension for long-term treatment with MET-097 in adults with obesity or overweight.

Save the date

Make plans to join us June 18–21, 2027, for the 2027 Scientific Sessions at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Registration will open in January.