Dec 9 (Reuters) - Pfizer ( PFE ) said on Tuesday it

entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with YaoPharma, a

subsidiary of China's Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical,

to develop and commercialize an experimental weight-management

treatment.

The therapy YP05002 is part of the GLP-1 agonist class of

drugs and is currently in early-stage development.

Under the terms of the agreement, YaoPharma will complete

the ongoing clinical trial and grant Pfizer ( PFE ) an exclusive license

to further develop, manufacture and commercialize YP05002

worldwide.

YaoPharma will receive an upfront payment of $150 million

and could earn up to $1.94 billion in milestone payments, along

with tiered royalties on sales if the drug is approved.

Last month Pfizer ( PFE ) closed its up to $10 billion acquisition

of Metsera, gaining a foothold in the fast-growing

obesity market following a fierce bidding war with Novo Nordisk

.

Pfizer ( PFE ) had discontinued two oral GLP-1 candidates -

lotiglipron in 2023 and danuglipron in 2025 - due to liver

safety concerns, leaving it without a viable in-house obesity

drug.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil

D'Silva and Vijay Kishore)