By Dominic Chopping


Shares in Novo Nordisk hit a record high after the company presented early data for a new obesity drug suggesting it could be more effective than the Danish pharmaceutical giant's blockbuster Wegovy treatment.

Novo Nordisk said a Phase 1 trial of its Amycretin treatment showed weight loss of around 13% after 12 weeks, better than the 6% weight loss patients experienced after 12 weeks in a Wegovy trial.

Shares rose as much at 7.5% in afternoon trade.

On the back of the promising early data, the drug--which is taken once daily as a pill--should move into a Phase 2 trial in the second half of this year, executives said at an investor day on Thursday.

"We believe this data release is the primary driver for the shares," Barclays analysts said in a note. "Importantly, the company noted that it has not ruled out going [straight] into Phase 3 development."

The popularity of Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic has exploded and Novo Nordisk is hurrying to boost manufacturing capacity to meet demand. As supply increases and the company is able to launch Wegovy in new markets, it expects sales to rapidly increase.

"This is going to get big. This is going to get very very big," said Maziar Mike Doustdar, head of international operations.

Both Wegovy and Ozempic are based on the same active ingredient, semaglutide, and the company is busy developing the next generation of treatments that combine it with other ingredients to enhance benefits and improve other areas of health.

Amycretin is one of the most eagerly anticipated, and CagriSema is another.

CagriSema, a combination of semaglutide and a drug called cagrilintide, is currently in a Phase 3 trial, having already shown greater blood-sugar control and weight-loss benefits in diabetic patients than those treated with only semaglutide or cagrilintide.

Using the two drug combination gives "more bang for the buck," said Martin Holst Lange, head of development. "If we can show that...that will be a real game changer."

The new pipeline of drugs should also benefit from production efficiencies as the company expects them to be manufactured using existing facilities.

In its presentation at the investor event, Novo Nordisk highlighted 10 new obesity treatments currently under development.

The runaway success of semaglutide-based drugs for treating weight loss and diabetes has also yielded extra health benefits, with studies showing that they also cut the risks of stroke and heart attacks as well as slowing the progression of kidney failure, while a recent small study also showed a meaningful improvement in pain and physical function in patients with osteoarthritis.

"There is a secret sauce to Wegovy that goes way above weight loss," Doustdar said.

Based on these outcomes, the company is expanding into areas like cardiovascular diseases and increasing focus on treating conditions outside of its core diabetes and weight-loss market.

It aims to establish a presence in the cardiovascular and emerging-therapy areas while strengthening its progress in the rare-disease pipeline, in addition to building on its portfolio of obesity and diabetes treatments.

The move comes as Novo Nordisk will lose exclusivity to semaglutide around 2031 or 2032.

"Growth beyond semaglutide loss of exclusivity remains a key priority," the company said.


Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-07-24 0851ET