Walgreens will conduct clinical trials for Boehringer Ingelheim’s new obesity drug

Walgreens has signed a deal with Boehringer Ingelheim to use its community pharmacies as clinical trial sites for people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The drugmaker is moving into Phase III studies for survodutide, which it is developing in partnership with Zealand Pharma. It is expected to compete with other popular GLP-1 drugs currently on the market, such as Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk. The drug has passed trials for safety and effectiveness, and the latest trials compare its efficacy with existing treatments. After the Phase III trial is completed, the company can request FDA review.

Walgreens’ objective is to leverage its national presence, community relationships and data-driven clinical trials solutions to help identify and reach potential study participants for clinical trials.

“This model not only provides foundational education on clinical research for patients but also empowers individuals, offering them a new pathway to engage in their health care through clinical trial participation,” said Ramita Tandon, chief clinical trials officer at Walgreens. “It’s a step forward in transforming the landscape of clinical research, helping to make clinical trials more inclusive and accessible.”

The effort aims to improve access and address equitable health representation in clinical trials, especially among Black and Hispanic adults who are more likely to have obesity in the United States but historically have been underrepresented, according to the companies.

“We’re able to recruit diverse patient panels four times faster than pharma can do themselves,” Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said. “Speed matters when you’re doing trials. We get paid for it, and it’s a variable-cost business. We hire humans, and we use our data to deliver that value to pharma. We aren’t buying clinics and building brick and mortar do it.”

Boehringer Ingelheim also is partnering with EmVenio Research to complement this initiative by introducing mobile research units to extend reach and provide additional options for participation.

“By bringing clinical trials into the heart of local communities, we’re making them more accessible, helping to provide access to diverse populations with pressing health needs to participate in our clinical trials,” said Lennart Jungersten, senior vice president for medicine and regulatory affairs at Boehringer Ingelheim U.S.

Walgreens launched its clinical trials unit in June 2022 and has signed more than 35 clinical trial contracts with drugmakers, including Freenome and Prothena. It also is teaming up with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation to support research into valvular heart disease among older seniors.

Related: Low-income patients struggle to afford high-priced GLP-1 diabetes drugs

Several other pharmacy chains are using similar strategies. In 2021, CVS launched its clinical trial services business that “brings together innovation and experience to help solve these challenges, driving greater access to clinical trials across the communities it serves and creating a more efficient, convenient experience to improve participant retention and research effectiveness,” according to the company. In January 2023, Kroger established its clinical trial site network in conjunction with pharmaceutical industry sponsors, contract research organizations and health systems.