Watch weight loss stocks after cardiovascular data for Wegovy
Douglas Cliff
Drugmakers with weight loss candidates in their pipelines are trading higher on Tuesday after the Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NVO) said its obesity therapy Wegovy cut major cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke by 20% in a large late-stage trial.
Wegovy, also known as semaglutide, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist indicated for chronic weight management in adults alongside other non-therapeutic interventions such as a low-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
The readout was widely seen as a key step for drugmakers to push managed care organizations to cover obesity drugs, more broadly. While Novo (NVO) shares in Denmark added ~17% in reaction to the results, its rivals across the Atlantic were no different.
Eli Lilly (LLY), which is advancing its diabetes therapy Mounjaro for a weight loss approval potentially this year, climbed ~17%. Just after Novo (NVO) released results for Wegovy, the U.S. drugmaker exceeded expectations with its Q2 2023 results, partly due to strong sales for Mounjaro, a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist, also known as tirzepatide.
Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), which expects to advance its dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist VK2735 in a Phase 2 trial for obesity this year, added ~7%. Other developers with dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonists, including Amgen (AMGN) and Altimmune (ALT), are also notable gainers.
Meanwhile, Pfizer (PFE) recently prioritized studies for its oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, danuglipron, targeting adults with obesity and Type 2 diabetes and discontinued trials for a similar candidate called lotiglipron.
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