Novo Nordisk's Stock Hits 52-Week High After Highly Sought After Obesity Drug Trial Data

Thursday, Novo Nordisk A/S NVO is holding its Capital Markets Day. Its executive management and other members of senior management will provide a full review of strategy, operations, and financial targets.

During its early session, the company, at its investor event, said early trial data for its experimental obesity drug amycretin showed a higher weight loss than its Wegovy (semaglutide) treatment.

Amycretin is an oral medicine that targets the same GLP-1 hormone as other highly popular weight loss drugs like Novo’ Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly And Co’s LLY Zepbound (tirzepatide), which regulates hunger.

In the Phase 1 trial, oral amycretin showed that participants lost 13.1% of their weight after 12 weeks. That compares to a weight loss of 5.9% after 12 weeks in a trial for Wegovy.

Wegovy showed an overall weight loss of 15% after two years of treatment vs. 2.6% (~6 lb) for adults taking a placebo.

The Danish pharma giant said amycretin appeared to be safe and well-tolerated and had adverse effects in line with previous Novo Nordisk GLP-1 and CagriSema trials.

Novo Nordisk will begin a Phase 2 trial of its experimental drug amycretin during later 2024, with results due in early 2026.

In its presentation, the company said amycretin will be tested in a phase 2 trial with oral and subcutaneous administration in people with type 2 diabetes, with the trial expected to be initiated in the second half of 2024.

A mid-stage study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health showed that the weekly injection of semaglutide has proven to be both safe and effective, reducing liver fat in individuals with HIV and fatty liver disease.

Novo Nordisk’s FLOW kidney outcomes trial demonstrated a statistically significant and superior reduction in kidney disease progression and cardiovascular and kidney death of 24% for people treated with semaglutide 1.0 mg compared to placebo.

Price Action: NVO shares are up 6.58% at $132.96 during the premarket session on the last check Thursday.

Image Via Shutterstock