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Novo Nordisk shares climbed 8% on Thursday, hitting a fresh record high after the Danish pharmaceutical giant reported positive early trial data for a latest experimental weight reduction drug.
The corporate told an investor meeting that the Phase I trial of its highly-anticipated obesity drug amycretin showed a 13.1% weight reduction in participants after 12 weeks, based on Reuters. This reading eclipses the 6% loss recorded after a 12-week trial for the corporate’s wildly popular obesity drug Wegovy.
A Phase II trial will begin within the second half of this 12 months, with results expected in early 2026, the corporate said.
Shares of Novo Nordisk, Europe’s largest company by market cap, have gained greater than 27% for the reason that turn of the 12 months because the pharmaceuticals giant continues to reap the advantages of rampant demand for its flagship Wegovy and Ozempic anti-obesity drugs.
Earlier this week, Novo reported late-stage trial results showing that Ozempic cut the danger of kidney disease progression and death from kidney or cardiovascular complications by 24% in diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease.
The outcomes added to mounting evidence of the broader health advantages related to Ozempic and similar drugs, beyond weight reduction and Type 2 diabetes treatment.
“Despite competitor read outs in the previous few weeks (Zealand, Viking), today’s capital markets day from Novo Nordisk shows they are usually not sitting still and preparing already for a life after Ozempic,” said Yuri Khodjamirian, chief investment officer at Tema ETFs.
“As we at all times say, safety will probably be key and Novo are waiting to see results of the subcutaneous formulation before making a clinical plan. Overall, we expect this bolsters Novo’s position because it now has several follow up agents to Ozempic/Wegovy, where the patent expires in 2031/32, led by Cagrisema and now Amycretin, to assist evergreen their obesity franchise.”
Shares of American rival Eli Lilly were down 0.8% in morning trade on the back of the news.
