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Novo Nordisk's shares rise as Phase III trial shows its oral Wegovy pill achieves significant weight loss, offering a new option for patients.
Shares jumped $8.8 million after research from the clinical trial displayed the pill formulation of Wegovy achieved nearly as much weight loss as the injection formulation.
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Novo Nordisk saw its shares jump 4.5% after research from a Phase III clinical trial displayed its new anti-obesity oral formulation of Wegovy provided almost as much weight loss as its Wegovy injectable. The jump follows a down stretch for the company, as shares had fallen close to 60% over the last year. This drop came alongside sales slowing down, multiple profit warning announcements, and the announcement of the decision to cut 9,000 positions globally.
Novo Nordisk’s chief science officer Martin Holst Lange told CNBC, “Our job was to show that, with the tablet, we could get the same efficacy and the same safety and tolerability as we can with the injectable. That we have now done,” Lange continued, saying, “That basically means that we can offer patients the choice between the tablet and the injectable, and that will make a difference for some patients.”2
Novo Nordisk announced that the pill-version of Wegovy reached “significant weight loss” in its Phase III Oasis 4 clinical trial, with one third of participants losing at least 20% of weight, with the side effects of the oral formulation being comparable to the injectable formulation. The clinical study spanned 64-weeks, involved 307 participants who were obese or overweight adults, and concluded with participants seeing an average weight reduction of 16.6%. Wegovy became the first oral GLP-1 drug submitted to FDA with Novo expecting a decision on approval by the end of this year. Novo also announced that production is already underway in the U.S. in select Novo Nordisk sites across the U.S.
Novo Nordisk isn’t the first company working on developing oral GLP-1’s, as Eli Lilly is working on its oral GLP-1 Orforglipron, which has potential to be fast-tracked for approval from FDA under the new Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher.
According to a report from CNBC, Lange touched on the topic, saying, Novo welcomes “good competition” but continued to add that the company was focused on drug outcomes, such as long-term adoption rates.
Lange continued, saying, “In this situation, we look at the data, Semaglutide as a tablet has the potential to offer 17% body weight loss and with a good safety and tolerability profile. What we’ve seen from our competitor is slightly more than 12% weight loss. And, again, we can’t do direct comparisons, but at least we can see a discontinuation rate, suggesting that maybe Semaglutide also has a more effective safety and tolerability profile.”2
As of now, both companies continue to focus on advancing and developing its respective experimental drug treatments, with Novo’s Lange, saying, “What we are doing now is focusing on our core, which is diabetes and obesity. That will include continuous investment in both diabetes and obesity, and also, as we discussed, the related comorbidities.”
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