Novo Nordisk flags Wegovy pill weight reduction in step with injection

Novo Nordisk said Wednesday that late-stage trial results for its once-daily obesity pill showed “significant” weight reduction and tolerability in step with its blockbuster Wegovy injection, as drugmakers race to get an oral treatment to market.

Results from the phase 3 Oasis 4 trial showed the oral semaglutide pill led to average weight reduction of 16.6% after 64 weeks in patients with obesity or obese and not less than one weight-related comorbidity, the Danish pharmaceutical firm said.

Dubbed the “Wegovy pill,” Novo Nordisk’s Chief Science Officer Martin Holst Lange told CNBC that the oral treatment offered patients a crucial alternative to its existing once-weekly injection.

“Our job was to indicate that, with the tablet, we could get the identical efficacy and the identical safety and tolerability as we are able to with the injectable. That we have now now done,” Lange said by phone.

“That mainly signifies that we are able to offer patients the alternative between the tablet and the injectable, and that can make a difference for some patients,” he added.

Novo Nordisk’s oral treatment relies on the identical Semaglutide GLP-1 medication that underpins the corporate’s existing obesity and diabetes treatments, Wegovy and Ozempic. Wegovy was shown to scale back weight by 15% on average in patients with obese or obesity and not less than one weight-related comorbidity in an earlier Novo study.

The pill is currently under review with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, having been submitted under a Latest Drug Application in February. A choice is due within the fourth quarter of this 12 months.

If approved, the corporate said the pill might be made fully within the U.S. It comes as global pharma firms have been ramping up their U.S. investments amid pressure from the Trump administration to bolster domestic production.

Analysts told Reuters Tuesday that rival Eli Lilly‘s competitor obesity pill, Orforglipron, might be fast-tracked for approval inside one to 2 months under the FDA’s “Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher” — a brand new initiative to further the Trump administration’s drug development goals.

Lange said Novo welcomes “good competition” but added it was focused on drug outcomes, including long-term adoption rates.

“In this example, we take a look at the info,” Lange said. “Semaglutide as a tablet has the potential to supply 17% body weight reduction and with safety and tolerability profile.”

“What we have seen from our competitor is barely greater than 12% weight reduction. And, again, we will not do direct comparisons, but not less than we are able to see a discontinuation rate, suggesting that perhaps Semaglutide also has a [more] effective safety and tolerability profile.”

In a phase 3 ATTAIN-1 trial released Tuesday, Eli Lilly said Orforglipron resulted in average weight reduction of 12.4% at the best dose after 72 weeks in adults with obesity, or obese with not less than one comorbidity.

Nevertheless, the U.S. drug maker said Wednesday that its pill outperformed Novo’s in the primary head-to-head study comparing the 2 medicines’ efficacy in lowering blood sugar levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes. 

Each firms have been experimenting with recent so-called next-generation drugs, with Novo on Tuesday flagging promise in its Cagrilintide long-acting amylin analogue — a nascent type of weight reduction treatment.

It comes because the Danish company last week announced plans to chop around 9,000 roles as a part of a wider shake-up under recent CEO Mike Doustdar, who has vowed to reset the corporate after a period of weaker growth.

“What we’re doing now’s specializing in our core, which is diabetes and obesity. That may include continuous investment in each diabetes and obesity, and likewise, as we discussed, the related comorbidities,” Lange said Wednesday.