Prime Highlights:
The company’s stock rose significantly after promising results from an early-stage trial of amycretin, a new weight-loss drug.
Participants in the trial lost up to 22% of their body weight after 36 weeks of treatment with amycretin.
Amycretin targets GLP-1 (already targeted by existing weight-loss drugs) and amylin, which helps induce fullness, offering potential for effective weight management.
Key Background:
Shares of Novo Nordisk, one of Europe’s most valuable companies, experienced a 10% surge on Friday after the pharmaceutical giant announced positive results from its latest weight-loss treatment trial. The early-stage study revealed that participants receiving amycretin, an experimental drug, lost up to 22% of their body weight after 36 weeks of treatment.
Novo Nordisk’s executive vice-president for development, Martin Lange, expressed strong optimism about the trial results, highlighting the significant weight loss observed in individuals with overweight and obesity. The company is now preparing to advance the drug’s development, targeting two key hormones—GLP-1 and amylin. GLP-1 is already targeted by current weight-loss medications, while amylin is believed to help control appetite by inducing a feeling of fullness.
The amycretin trial tested an injectable version of the drug with 125 participants, building on earlier research that explored a pill form of the drug. In a separate trial of the pill, patients lost an average of 13% of their body weight after just 12 weeks. While promising, amycretin remains in the early stages of development, and further large-scale trials will be necessary to determine its long-term efficacy and safety.
Novo Nordisk’s recent performance has been a subject of investor attention, as the company’s stock has seen fluctuations due to the competitive landscape in the obesity drug market and concerns about potential price cuts in the U.S. Its current portfolio includes popular treatments like Wegovy and Ozempic, but the company is facing increased competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly. Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug Zepbound and its diabetes treatment Mounjaro have shown higher average weight loss results, heightening investor interest in Novo Nordisk’s future pipeline. While amycretin’s commercial availability is still years away, the positive trial results have sparked renewed optimism about Novo Nordisk’s long-term prospects in the weight-loss and diabetes treatment markets.
