March 23 (Reuters) - Aardvark Therapeutics ( AARD ) said

on Monday it has voluntarily paused two mid-stage studies

testing its experimental combination treatment for obesity as it

reviews side effects associated with one of the drugs.

* The combination treatment, ARD-201, was being tested to

induce weight loss and prevent weight regain among patients who

have lost about 15% of body weight on the popular GLP-1 class of

drugs, which includes Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Zepbound and Novo

Nordisk's Wegovy.

* ARD-201 is a combination of Aardvark's experimental drug,

ARD-101, and Merck's ( MRK ) diabetes drug Januvia, chemically

known as sitagliptin.

* ARD-101 is designed to trigger the release of multiple

gut-peptide hormones, including GLP-1, to regulate hunger.

* Last month, the company identified heart-related side

effects during safety monitoring of ARD-101 in a

healthy-volunteer study. It then paused a late-stage trial

testing ARD-101 in patients with a rare genetic disorder called

Prader-Willi syndrome.

* Aardvark said it expects to provide further updates on the

drugs in the second quarter of 2026.