Baseline Therapeutics has entered the GLP-1 drug market, aiming to develop treatments for addiction disorders. The San Francisco-based biotech announced plans to advance its lead candidate, BT-001, a once-weekly GLP-1 analog, into late-stage clinical development for alcohol use disorder (AUD). According to CEO Nicholas Reville, “We are prioritizing execution: an FDA-aligned Phase 3 plan, a weekly dosing profile designed for adherence, and a multi-indication strategy that can extend beyond [alcohol use disorder].” Reville did not disclose the company's initial funding amount.
The company intends to launch two randomized, placebo-controlled Phase III studies of BT-001 for AUD this year. Baseline also plans to explore BT-001’s potential in other substance use disorders such as opioid, cocaine, and methamphetamine addictions. Development in these additional indications is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year.
Morris Birnbaum joins Baseline as chief scientific officer after serving in the same capacity at Pfizer’s Internal Medicine Research Unit.
The idea of using GLP-1 drugs for addiction is gaining traction. Michael Glockman, an obesity medicine specialist at Revolution Medicine, Health & Fitness, told BioSpace in August 2023 that there is growing evidence suggesting GLP-1 drugs “blunt that pleasure response across the board. I think there are so many interplays in the brain that are involved with the dopamine pleasure response, and addiction falls into that.”
Research published in JAMA Psychiatry in February 2025 found that patients treated with Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide consumed less alcohol and had lower peak breath alcohol levels compared to controls. Semaglutide treatment was also associated with reduced heavy drinking over time. Although Novo did not fund the study directly, its principal author has received consulting fees from the company for unrelated work.
Major pharmaceutical companies have begun investing in this area as well. Eli Lilly launched a Phase III trial of brenipatide—a GLP-1/GIP candidate—for AUD in October last year. The study is currently recruiting participants and is scheduled for completion by April 2028.
