Novo Nordisk falls after safety signal linked to weight loss drug class
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Novo Nordisk (NVO) shares came under pressure on Thursday after reports of a thyroid cancer safety signal linked to glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which represent the company's popular weight loss agent semaglutide.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient of Danish drugmaker's obesity therapy Wegovy, Rybelsus, and its diabetes drug Ozempic.
The EU drug regulator, European Medicines Agency (EMA) raised the safety signal to monitor potential adverse events further.
GLP-1 drugs from Eli Lilly (LLY), AstraZeneca (AZN), and Sanofi (SNY) are also linked to the safety signal, which, however, does not mean that the drugs are the reason for the reported adverse events. 
Novo Nordisk (NVO) shares were trading ~2% lower on Thursday after Danish media outlet B.T. reported the EMA safety signal.
When contacted, Lars Otto Andersen-Lange, the company's media relations director, told Reuters that the B.T. report was based on a May 8 statement from the EMA.
"Patient safety has top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from use of our medicines very seriously," Andersen-Lange said.
An EMA spokesperson said that in January, the regulator's safety panel "discussed a signal for medicines pertaining to the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists class, including medicines containing the active substance semaglutide."
The discussion followed a study indicating an increased risk of thyroid cancers when GLP-1 receptor agonists are used in patients with Type 2 diabetes.
The companies linked to the safety issue are expected to provide supplementary information to the EMA before July 26, as requested by the agency in April.
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