Novo Nordisk optimistic of obesity drug launch in the 2020s

The head of development at Novo Nordisk told reporters that he was confident the company would be able to release the pill form of its weight loss trial medication, amycretin, this decade.

Novo's stock price surged on Thursday after the company informed investors that, after 12 weeks of a Phase I trial, participants in the pill form of amycretin dropped 13.1% of their body weight—a greater loss than with its immensely popular Wegovy.

It anticipates greater weight-loss efficacy than Wegovy from its two new experimental obesity medications, amycretin and cagrisema.

Novo's stock price surged on Thursday after the company informed investors that, after 12 weeks of a Phase I trial, participants in the pill form of amycretin dropped 13.1% of their body weight—a greater loss than with its immensely popular Wegovy.

Wegovy also had a definite cardiovascular benefit, according to a large study published in August by Novo, which raised the company's hopes of shedding its reputation as a lifestyle medication.

The question of whether the long-term health advantages of weight-loss medications will be sufficient to lessen the overall load on healthcare systems and the expense of treating heart disease in overweight and obese individuals has been sparked by these findings.

Amycretin's oral and injectable forms are intended to be developed concurrently by Novo Nordisk, according to Lange.

The Danish company's hopes of shedding its reputation as a lifestyle drug were bolstered by the drugmaker's announcement in August that a large study had demonstrated Wegovy also had a clear cardiovascular benefit.