Zealand Pharma’s quarterly revenue falls to 4 million kroner as loss widens
Key Facts
Zealand Pharma said revenue in the third quarter of 2026 fell to 4 million Danish kroner, from 50 million in the same period of 2025, while research and development expenses rose to 572 million kroner from 320 million. Total operating expenses were 689 million kroner, compared with 511 million a year earlier, according to the company’s official financial report. Results showed a net loss of 685 million kroner, compared with a loss of 404 million in the third quarter of 2025. Net financial items were positive 51 million kroner during the quarter, the report said. The results highlight rising drug development spending as quarterly revenue declined, while the company advances its obesity treatment program toward late-stage pivotal trials.
The company attributed a major part of the increase in research spending to the Phase 2 ZUPREME program for petrelintide and preparations to begin pivotal Phase 3 trials. Research and development expenses totaled 1.557 billion kroner in the first nine months of 2026. The company said these expenses were "primarily driven by the Phase 2 ZUPREME program with petrelintide, alongside preparations to begin the pivotal Phase 3 trials." This spending puts clinical development at the center of the financial change during the period, as it coincided with a decline in quarterly revenue from a year earlier. The comparison between the nine-month period and the quarter alone also reflects the continued allocation of substantial resources to expand the drug program, alongside preparations for a broader testing phase.
For the year-to-date period through the end of September, revenue in the first nine months totaled 4.53 billion kroner, compared with 9.15 billion in the same period of 2025, according to Reuters via Investing.com. Net profit fell to 3.47 billion kroner from 6.83 billion a year earlier. This longer-term performance provides broader context for the quarterly revenue decline, with nine-month revenue below the year-earlier level alongside lower net profit. Available cash and marketable securities totaled 13.51 billion kroner on September 30, 2026, compared with 15.11 billion at the end of 2025. The company attributed the decline mainly to operating costs and share buybacks, partly offset by a payment from Roche.
On its funding plans, Zealand Pharma narrowed its 2026 operating expense guidance, excluding other operating items, to 2.7–3.0 billion kroner, compared with the previous range of 2.7–3.3 billion. The company kept its collaboration revenue guidance at 4.5 billion kroner. The range adjustment lowers the upper end of expected expenses, while the company’s target for collaboration revenue is unchanged. The guidance comes in a year of advancing development programs, and the company says preparations for pivotal petrelintide trials are among the drivers of its research spending. The annual figures in the guidance relate to 2026, while the third-quarter results cover the three months ended in September.
Zealand Pharma and Roche have begun the pivotal Phase 3 program for petrelintide, which consists of 3 trials expected to enroll about 7,000 participants in total, according to the official report. The move into this program expands clinical testing of the drug following the Phase 2 ZUPREME program, with Roche participating in the collaboration. The companies said the program "consists of 3 pivotal trials and is expected to enroll about 7,000 participants in total." Alongside the petrelintide program, Zealand expects to begin the Phase 2 ZYNERGY trial with Roche during the fourth quarter of 2026. The company places the trial start within its expected development schedule for the same period in which other regulatory milestones are pending.
The company expects a final European decision on glepaglutide during the fourth quarter of 2026, after the CHMP recommended approval, according to the Reuters report via Investing.com and the official report. It also expects to resubmit the dasiglucagon application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the fourth quarter. The regulatory milestones therefore include a final European decision on glepaglutide and resubmission of the other drug application during the same period, according to the company’s announced schedule. For its next scheduled financial report, Zealand Pharma set February 25, 2027, for the release of its fourth-quarter results and 2026 annual report. This follows the expected trial and regulatory milestones in the fourth quarter of 2026.
In the stock market, ZLDPF closed at $36.75 on November 11 and then at $35.50 on November 12, according to EL7 data. The two closes show the stock’s movement over two consecutive sessions around the date the news was published, with the second session’s close below the first. The move coincided with results showing lower quarterly revenue and higher operating and research expenses, alongside the company’s continued funding of development programs. The results report does not include a documented figure comparing adjusted per-share loss with analyst estimates, so that comparison does not form the basis of this assessment. The next milestones specified in the company’s disclosure remain the start of ZYNERGY and the regulatory decisions expected in the fourth quarter, followed by the annual results announcement in February 2027.