Pfizer Stock Pops: Study Shows Company's Oral Weight Loss Drug Could Be As Effective As Novo Nordic's Ozempic Injection

Pfizer Inc PFE shares are trading higher Monday in the wake of a newly released study suggesting the company's oral weight loss drug may be as effective as Novo Nordisk's NVO Ozempic injection.

What Happened: According to a peer-reviewed study of phase 2 clinical trial results published on the JAMA Network, Pfizer's danuglipron works quicker than, and results in a similar amount of weight loss as Ozempic. 

The results were initially presented at a medical conference toward the end of 2022, but they were not compared to Novo Nordisk's injection at that time.

The study shows that 411 randomized participants with Type 2 diabetes were given either Pfizer's oral drug or a placebo twice a day for 16 weeks. The double-blind treatment period was completed by 316 participants.

"All danuglipron groups demonstrated statistically significant dose-responsive declines from baseline in HbA_1c at week 16 compared with placebo," the study says.

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The results from the study are significant because they show that danuglipron is likely as effective as Ozempic for weight loss, but offers the advantage of being orally administered instead of injection-based. 

The study concludes that the phase 2b trial demonstrated glycemic and body weight efficacy in a range of doses during a short but clinically relevant time frame.

Why It Matters: Entrepreneur and author of "Laughing at Wall Street" Chris Camillo doesn't believe the results pose any substantive risk to competitors Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly And Co LLY.

"Novo's oral semaglutide medication, Rybelsus, is already in market and is on the cusp of seeking approval for an enhanced dosage formulation, potentially facilitating weight reduction of up to 20 pounds," Camillo said. 

"Furthermore, both Novo and Eli Lilly have next-generation injectable GLP-1 medications in pipeline that are indicating transformative improvements with anticipated weight loss up to an astounding 27% of body weight."

Camillo said he owns both Lilly and Novo stock. 

Obesity is common and costly. According to the CDC, U.S. obesity prevalence was 41.9% from 2017 to 2020.

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PFE Price Action: Pfizer shares were up 4.15% at $38.30 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Pfizer.