The CEO of Roche’s, opens new tab Genentech unit, Ashley Magargee, said on Monday the company is striving to build a portfolio of obesity medicines that are both tolerable in terms of side effects and affordable.
“A lot of patients are dropping off therapy for various reasons,” said Magargee, speaking at the Reuters Pharma USA 2026 event in Philadelphia, pointing to a need for long-term weight maintenance and combination therapies for people who are not responding to just one medicine.
“How can you not just get these new medicines to patients, but also, how can you get an affordable portfolio of medicines to treat all the needs across the patient population?” she said.
Demand for obesity drugs has surged, driven by highly effective injectable GLP-1 treatments from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Analysts predict the obesity drug market could reach around $100 billion by 2030. Meanwhile, companies like Roche, Amgen, and Pfizer are developing experimental pill-based treatments to capture a share of this growing market.
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Roche secured rights to petrelintide an experimental obesity drug created by Zealand Pharma through a collaboration and licensing deal worth up to $5.3 billion signed last year. Its Genentech division is also advancing several other obesity treatment candidates currently in development.
During the interview, Magargee also discussed healthcare policy changes under the Trump administration, Genentech’s initiatives to provide more medications directly to consumers, and the potential of AI to transform the drug regulatory process.
Roche’s Xofluza flu drug will be on the U.S. government’s TrumpRx.gov website when the administration launches the next tranche of medicines there, she said. The website directs patients to drug companies’ direct-to-consumer sites.
Xofluza is now available through third-party providers for $50 for customers paying in cash, a distribution approach the company says is better suited for oral medications rather than treatments that require physician supervision.
“We’re certainly experimenting and bringing many more through that channel than we ever have,” said Magargee.
About Genentech
Genentech is a leading biotechnology company founded in 1976, focused on discovering, developing, and bringing innovative medicines to market for serious and life-threatening diseases. Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company works across key areas such as oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and metabolism. It is known for pioneering major breakthroughs, including the first targeted antibody therapy for cancer, and continues to advance cutting-edge science to improve patient outcomes worldwide.
