Novo Nordisk celebrates success with new weight loss drug

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk saw its shares rise significantly in value on Friday, rising by more than 12% in the pre-trading phase, following the announcement of favourable results from clinical trials for its latest weight loss product, amycretin.

The new drug, which works on a similar principle to Wegovy's and Ozempic's successful products, has shown the ability to reduce body weight by up to 22% in the early stages of clinical trials. The trials, which involved 125 people, were conducted over a 36-week period with gradual dose increases. The highest dose achieved, 20 mg, produced the best results. The company also tested a pill form of the drug with the same formulation at the same time, but the results of this variant were disappointing late last year.

Hope for a competitive market

According to analyst Jared Holz of Mizuho, the discovery could provide a significant boost to Novo Nordisk $NVO's share price . "The new findings could significantly help the company's stock, which has lagged in recent months due to concerns about a lack of innovation in obesity treatments. If results in later-stage clinical trials are consistent, amycretin could become one of the leading weight-loss therapies," Holz said in his analysis.

Amycretin works on a similar principle to existing GLP-1-based drugs. It mimics the hormone that suppresses hunger while adding another hormone that affects the pancreas. The side effects were comparable to similar products, with mainly mild to moderate digestive upset such as nausea and vomiting.

A new chapter after previous failures

Novo Nordisk has experienced disappointment in the past with CagriSema, which, while delivering similar results, was based on the same active ingredient as Ozempic and Wegovy, reducing its potential for innovation.

The company is now planning further phases of testing amycretin in adults with obesity. Although the results to date suggest high efficacy, confirmation in a large Phase 3 clinical trial will be required.

"We are very encouraged by the results of the subcutaneous Phase 1b/2a trial of amycretin in overweight or obese individuals," said Martin Lange, Executive Vice President of Development at Novo Nordisk. "These results confirm the potential of this innovative GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist, which we have already seen with the oral formulation," Lange added.

With amycretin, Novo Nordisk is entering the highly competitive obesity drug market with the potential to take a prominent position among available therapies. The future now depends on the results of further trials to confirm the drug's efficacy and safety.

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Source: Yahoo Finance