Shares of Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk rose to a record high on Tuesday after study results showed its treatment for obesity reduced the risk of heart attack or stroke by 20%.
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Preliminary results of the study show that patients taking the prescribed weight-loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) have a 20% reduced risk of suffering a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, compared to patients receiving a placebo . The laboratory announced this in a press release published on its website.
“We are very pleased with the results,” said Martin Holst Lange, CEO and responsible for development at Novo Nordisk – the world’s number one in insulin.
At around 14:00 GMT on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, the stock is up almost 18% to 1,286 Danish kroner.
“Although the results of the study (…) still need to be confirmed by careful peer review, they demonstrate the urgent need to bring this effective and safe drug to patients with obesity in order to prevent future diseases,” emphasized Simon Cork, Physician and Lecturer in Physiology at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, who states that obesity and its health consequences cost the UK public health system “more than 6 billion books a year”.
“Not only can healthcare organizations achieve significant financial savings, but affected people can also benefit from a better quality of life,” he added.
Danish company Novo Nordisk, which makes both Wegovy and Ozempic — another antidiabetic — in May reported a 39% rise in first-quarter profit on sales of anti-obesity drugs.
In mid-July, the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency announced that it was “reviewing data on the risks of suicidal thoughts and self-harm from medicines (…), including Ozempic (semaglutide), Saxenda (liraglutide)”. and Wegovy (semaglutide)”.
According to the press release, Novo Nordisk expects to submit a marketing authorization application to expand the Wegovy indication in the United States and the European Union later this year.
Detailed results of the study will be presented later in 2023 at a scientific conference.
The competition for obesity treatments in the pharmaceutical industry is fierce: According to the WHO, more than a billion people worldwide are obese.