TOPLINE
Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk on Thursday teased a potential successor to its blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy, the latest in a line of next-generation obesity treatments in development as consumers flock to the powerful drugs and competitors including Eli Lilly, Pfizer and an array of startups close in to claim a share of the lucrative market.
KEY FACTS
At an investor event on Thursday, Novo Nordisk shared data from an early stage clinical trial of an experimental weight loss drug called amycretin, an oral treatment that trial results suggest could be more powerful than the company’s popular weight loss drug Wegovy.
The pill, taken once a day, helped patients in the trial drop 13% of their weight over 12 weeks, a more impressive rate than Wegovy, where patients lost around 6% at 12 weeks.
Amycretin effectively combines the functionality of two different drugs into a single molecule that targets two hormones involved in regulating hunger and blood sugar levels: GLP-1 and amylin.
GLP-1 is the same hormone targeted by semaglutide and tirzepatide—generic names for Novo and Lilly’s diabetes and obesity blockbusters Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound—and companies including Novo and Zealand Pharma view amylin as a one potential target to build next generation of weight loss drugs around.
Novo is also testing a subcutaneous form of amycretin delivered through regular injections like Wegovy and Zepbound, though the early stage trial is ongoing and data is not expected to be released until around 2025.
Novo’s head of development Martin Lange Holst said the promising trial results justify further research into the pill and that a larger Phase 2 trial would begin in the second half of the year.
When will amycretin be available?
It will still be many years before Novo’s amycretin hits pharmacy shelves. Data from the mid-stage trial will not be available until around 2026, at the earliest, and regulators are likely to want an even more comprehensive trial to assess efficacy and safety to authorize it. It’s possible later trials won’t replicate the promising results from the early stage trial—the majority of drugs fail during clinical testing—or Novo may choose to focus its attention elsewhere. Data from the injectable amycretin is likely to have an impact on Novo’s future development pathway for the drug. Side effects and safety will also need to be monitored in a larger cohort of people to see whether the drug makes a viable treatment. Novo said the safety and side effect profile is in line with its other GLP-1 drugs, which can include a variety of gastrointestinal issues like nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea.
News Peg
Novo’s stock hit a new high after the company revealed some of its future plans on Thursday, gaining 9% and sending its market capitalization soaring to almost $610 billion. The company, which dethroned Bernard Arnault’s LVMH as Europe’s largest last year, is now more valuable than Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Big Number
$100 billion. That’s how much some analysts believe the obesity drug market will be worth by the end of the decade. Some think the market is potentially worth much more. Novo, alongside Eli Lilly, dominate the market and are likely to continue doing so for some time.