March 17 (Reuters) - OPKO Health ( OPK ) and Entera Bio ( ENTX )

are partnering to develop a once-daily pill for

patients with obesity and other disorders, the companies said on

Monday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Drug developers are vying for a share of the weight-loss

market, which is estimated to be worth about $150 billion by

early 2030 and is currently led by Novo Nordisk's

Wegovy and Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Zepbound.

Companies such as Pfizer ( PFE ), Amgen ( AMGN ), Viking

Therapeutics ( VKTX ), Altimmune ( ALT ) and Structure

Therapeutics ( GPCR ) are aiming to join the bandwagon.

CONTEXT

OPKO and Entera are also planning to use the pill for

metabolic disorders that affect the body's processing of

nutrients and fibrotic disorders where there is scarring of

tissues and organs.

The companies will combine Entera's technology and OPKO's

GLP-1 agonist OPK-88006 to develop the treatment.

BY THE NUMBERS

OPKO and Entera will be responsible for 60% and 40% of the

drug's development costs, respectively.

In connection with the execution of the agreement, OPKO

purchased 3,685,226 ordinary shares of Entera for $2.17 per

share, representing a premium of 15% to the stock's last close

on Friday.

MARKET REACTION

U.S.-listed shares of Israel-based Entera Bio ( ENTX ) were up more

than 10% in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by

Shinjini Ganguli)