The flags with the logos of the Danish drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk, manufacturer of the successful diabetes and the weight loss treatments Ozempic and Wogovy are images, while the company presents the annual report in Novo Nordisk in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, on February 5, 2025.
Mads Claus Rasmussen | AFP | Getty images
Novo Nordisk Said on Wednesday that the results of the late stage test for their obesity pill once a day showed a “significant” weight reduction and tolerability in line with their successful Wagovy injection, since medication manufacturers run to obtain an oral treatment to the market.
The results of the Oasis 4 phase 3 trial showed that the oral semaglutidos pill led to an average weight reduction of 16.6% after 64 weeks in patients with obesity or overweight and at least one comorbidity related to weight, Danish pharmaceutical firm said.
The shares increased 5.4% at 10:23 am, London time (5:23 am et).
Nicknamed the “Wegovy pill”, the director of Sciences of Novo Nordisk, Martin Holst Lange, told CNBC that oral treatment offered patients an important alternative to their existing injection once in the week.
“Our work was to show that, with the tablet, we could obtain the same effectiveness and the same security and tolerability that we can with the injectable. We have done,” Lange said by phone.
“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,” he added.
The oral treatment of Novo Nordisk is based on the same GLP-1 Semaglutide medicine that supports the existing treatments of obesity and diabetes of the company, Wogovy and Ozempic. It was shown that Wegovy reduces the weight by 15% on average in overweight or obesity and at least a comorbidity related to weight in a previous novo study.
Currently, the pill is reviewed with the United States drug and food administration, after being submitted under a new drug application in February. A decision is due in the fourth quarter of this year.
If approved, the company said that the pill will be carried out completely in the US.
The career of the obesity pill
There are currently no approved oral versions of LPG-1 in the market, however, competition is quickly heating. Pilizers treatments are considered a key milestone for companies that seek to make medications more accessible, even for those with an aversion to needles.
Analysts told Reuters on Tuesday that rival Eli LillyThe obesity pill of the competition, orforglipron, could be accelerated for approval within one or two months under the “National Priority Coupon of the Commissioner” of the FDA, a new initiative to promote the drug development objectives of the Trump administration.
Lange said Novo appreciates “good competition”, but added that he focused on the results of medicines, including long -term adoption rates.
“In this situation, we look at the data,” said Lange. “Semaglutida as a tablet has the potential to offer a body weight loss of 17% and with a good safety and tolerability profile.”
“What we have seen about our competitor is a little more than 12% weight loss. And, once again, we cannot make direct comparisons, but at least we can see an interruption rate, which suggests that perhaps Semaglutide also has a [more] Effective security and tolerability profile. “
In a phase 3 trial, Published on Tuesday, Eli Lilly said that Orforglipron resulted in an average weight loss of 12.4% at the highest dose after 72 weeks in adults with obesity, or overweight with at least one comorbidity.
However, the American drug manufacturer said Wednesday that his pill beat Novo's in the first head to head study that compared the effectiveness of the two medications to reduce blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Both companies have been experiencing with the so -called next -generation medications, with Novo on Tuesday he marked the promise in his analogous amiline of prolonged action of Cagrilintide, an incipient form of weight loss treatment.
It occurs when the Danish company announced last week to reduce around 9,000 roles as part of a broader jolt under the new Mike Doustdar, who has promised to restore the company after a weaker period of growth.
“What we are doing now is to focus on our nucleus, which is diabetes and obesity. That will include continuous investment in diabetes and obesity, and also, as we discuss, related comorbidities,” Lange said Wednesday.
