Drug Development is Hard; Narrative Resilience Helps Weather the Storms
This recent article in BioSpace spotlighting five high-profile obesity drug failures underscores the often brutal reality of drug development and its famously high failure rate.
Beyond these five casualties, the article also reminds us about how companies handle and communicate failures, which shapes stakeholder trust far beyond any immediate setback.
This matters especially in high-profile categories like GLP-1s, where the sheer size of the market has created intense scrutiny, and where failures directly impact not just individual companies, but confidence in the entire class.
A single drug failure isn’t the end of a story. The story continues… about the company, the drug class, the disease area, the patients who are waiting for the next treatment, the investors keeping eyes on the market, and on and on.
How a company chooses to steward its story through failure is narrative resilience.
Pfizer’s story in GLP-1s
Take Pfizer's oral GLP-1, danuglipron, arguably the most high-profile casualty in the GLP-1 race to date. Despite Pfizer’s position as a Big Pharma leader with the resources and expectations to match, this case shows how even giants can be vulnerable when it comes to narrative resilience.
Pfizer ended the danuglipron program in April this year after safety issues emerged in Phase 3. Comparing their 2023 press release about the compound with their April 2025 update reveals not just a shift in tone, but the limits of messaging without a broader narrative foundation in place.
In 2023 Pfizer was understandably confident about "robust reductions in body weight," positioning danuglipron as their largest oral GLP-1 program with Phase 3 potential.
December 1, 2023: Pfizer Announces Topline Phase 2b Results of Oral GLP-1R Agonist, Danuglipron, in Adults with Obesity
Two years later, they announced they were ending the trial over safety concerns. The message itself was thoughtful, recognizing their pipeline continuity in obesity and saying, "we remain committed to evaluating promising programs."
April 14, 2025: Pfizer Provides Update on Oral GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Danuglipron
Yet even with that well-crafted announcement, the trade media wrote the story as not just a defeat, but a retreat. “Capping more than two years of stock-gyrating drama” “Pfizer has now given up…” and is “…playing catch-up.” Those were verdicts as much as headlines, a perception that Pfizer’s message alone couldn’t counter.
The real miss wasn’t that one message, it was that Pfizer apparently hadn’t established a broader GLP-1/obesity narrative strong enough to absorb the failure. Given Pfizer’s size and reputation, that gap is surprising. They had multiple oral candidates in development, credible metabolic expertise, and unmatched manufacturing scale. Yet when danuglipron failed, they had no larger obesity or GLP-1 story to fall back on, and the trial’s end was framed as collapse of Pfizer’s obesity narrative.
Some may think: “Pfizer has a lot going on, most drugs fail, time to move on.” All true. But moments like these are exactly when narrative resilience matters most. A press release can’t do the work of a missing narrative foundation.
Narrative resilience: the “anti-spin”
Narrative resilience is a competitive advantage hiding in plain sight. While many companies work to contain damage in “crisis mode,” those that master narrative can turn setbacks into proof points of resilience and long-term commitment. It’s not about spinning failure into success. It’s about placing failure in the context of a larger story that acknowledges setbacks while reinforcing direction and purpose.
Companies that invest early in their narrative foundations – clarifying therapeutic approach, disease-state strategy, and competitive positioning –communicate from strength when setbacks happen. Those that don’t end up scrambling to create meaning in real time.
What Pfizer might have done differently
Applying the seven dimensions of narrative highlights a few opportunities for shaping a broader story over the long term.
Reaffirm Purpose: Make your larger mission clear: "We are committed to tackling obesity with innovative modalities, even when setbacks occur."
Clarify the Problem: Educate on the complexity of obesity, that GLP-1s are only one part of the solution, and continued innovation is required.
Differentiate POV: This isn’t a story about one compound or class of compounds. It’s a story about an innovator working to figure out the right approaches to this complex condition.
Approach Credibility: Translate what was learned into forward progress. “We tried this, it didn’t work. Here’s what we learned and how we’re moving forward.”
Priority Focus: Point to the next lead programs.
Commitment Strength: Thank trial participants, reassure employees and investors that Pfizer isn't leaving metabolic disease behind.
Stakeholder Connection: Speak directly to patients, HCPs, partners, not just regulators.
Handled this way, Pfizer’s statement could have been framed less as a retreat and more as discipline applied to accelerate better solutions. That’s the difference between managing a moment and stewarding a narrative.
In a sector where trust drives everything from patient adoption to investor confidence, managing your narrative through the inevitable setbacks shapes not just perception, but also competitive position, stakeholder loyalty, and the resources available for the next breakthrough.
Which is why narrative resilience isn’t just good communications. It’s strategic advantage.
