Novo Nordisk saw its shares surge by 8% on Thursday, reaching a new all-time high following positive early trial results for its experimental weight loss drug.
During an investor meeting, the Danish pharmaceutical giant disclosed that the Phase I trial of its highly anticipated obesity treatment, amycretin, demonstrated a 13.1% weight reduction among participants after 12 weeks.
This outcome surpassed the 6% weight loss observed in a similar timeframe during trials for Novo Nordisk’s widely popular obesity drug Wegovy.
The company announced plans to initiate a Phase II trial in the latter half of this year, with results anticipated in early 2026.
Novo Nordisk, Europe’s largest company by market capitalization, has seen its stock rise by more than 27% since the beginning of the year, buoyed by strong demand for its flagship anti-obesity medications Wegovy and Ozempic.
Earlier in the week, Novo reported positive late-stage trial results indicating that Ozempic reduced the risk of kidney disease progression and mortality from kidney or cardiovascular complications by 24% among diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease.
This development further underscores the broader health benefits associated with Novo’s medications beyond their roles in weight management and treating Type 2 diabetes.
“Despite competitor readouts in the last few weeks (Zealand, Viking), today’s capital markets day from Novo Nordisk shows they are not sitting still and preparing already for a life after Ozempic,” commented Yuri Khodjamirian, chief investment officer at Tema ETFs.
“As we always say, safety will be key and Novo are waiting to see results of the subcutaneous formulation before making a clinical plan.
We think this bolsters Novo’s position as it now has several follow-up agents to Ozempic/Wegovy, where the patent expires in 2031/32, led by Cagrisema and now Amycretin, to help evergreen their obesity franchise.”
In response to the news, shares of Novo Nordisk’s American competitor Eli Lilly were down 0.8% in morning trading.
