Roche has acquired rights to an obesity therapy by Denmark's Zealand Pharma in a collaboration deal worth up to $5.3 billion, as the Swiss drugmaker seeks to boost its prospects in the booming weight-loss market.

Roche and Zealand reason petrelintide could deliver weight loss comparable to glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists but without the side effects associated with GLP-1 drugs.

The deal gives the Swiss pharma access to an experimental amylin-targeting treatment it will test in combination with drugs it acquired from Carmot.