Experimental Novo obesity drug more effective than Wegovy in early trial; shares jump

Novo Nordisk said on Thursday early trial data for its highly anticipated experimental obesity drug amycretin showed a higher weight loss compared with its popular Wegovy treatment, sending its shares to new record highs.

Novo Nordisk said on Thursday early trial data for its highly anticipated experimental obesity drug amycretin showed a higher weight loss compared with its popular Wegovy treatment, sending its shares to new record highs. A Phase I trial of amycretin pill version showed participants lost 13.1% of their weight after 12 weeks, the company said at an investor meeting. That compares to a weight loss of about 6% after 12 weeks in a trial for Wegovy, its blockbuster obesity drug.

"We believe that it's not only competitive and interesting, but it also confirms everything that we had predicted," Novo's chief scientific officer Marcus Schindler told investors. Wegovy, which showed an overall weight loss of 15% after 2 years, belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, originally designed to treat type 2 diabetes, that have been shown to reduce food cravings and empty the stomach more slowly.

Following the success of GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy, companies are working on other promising weight-loss therapies in clinical trials, such as amycretin which targets another hunger hormone called amylin. Investors welcomed the news as indicating Novo has more in its pipeline beyond its hugely successful Wegovy. Its shares have soared since launching the weekly injections in the United States in 2021 and are now Europe's most valuable listed company, ahead of LVMH.

Wegovy was the first of a new group of highly effective weight-loss drugs to be launched. Novo and Eli Lilly are so far the leaders in the obesity drug market, forecast by analysts to be worth $100 billion by 2030. "The data looks very strong and competitive at first glance," Sydbank analyst Soren Lontoft Hansen said.

Novo shareholder and portfolio manager at Union Investment, Markus Manns, told Reuters that the amycretin data was "absolutely" impressive. Novo's shares surged 4.6% to a record peak following the announcement. Shares have risen more than three-fold since June 2021 when it launched Wegovy in the United States.

Nearly half of Novo's current valuation is based on the company's pipeline of new experimental drugs such as amycretin, according to calculations by Berenberg analysts last week.

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