Novo Nordisk (NVO) Semaglutide Gets FDA Nod for Obesity
Denmark-based Novo Nordisk A/S NVO announced that the FDA has approved its diabetes medicine, semaglutide as a weekly 2.4 mg injection for weight management in people living with obesity. The GLP-1 product will be marketed by the brand name of Wegovy for chronic weight management in adults with obesity (initial BMI≥30 kg/m2) or overweight (initial BMI≥27 kg/m2) with at least one weight-related comorbidity, such as high blood pressure, type II diabetes, or high cholesterol.
The approval was based on data from the phase IIIa STEP study, which enrolled around 4,500 adults with overweight or obesity. Data from the study showed that people with obesity and without type II diabetes, experienced an average weight loss of 17-18% sustained over 68 weeks. The drug is expected to be launched in the United States later this month. Obesity and overweight is a serious health issue in the United States, affecting approximately 70% of American adults
Shares of Novo Nordisk have risen 15.9% so far this year compared with the industry’s increase of 5.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Semaglutide is presently approved by the trade name of Ozempic as a once-daily pre-filled pen to improve glycemic control in type II diabetes patients. It was also approved as an oral tablet by the brand name of Rybelsus in September 2019 in the United States and is now launched in 15 countries. In January 2020, the drug was approved in the United States for cardiovascular risk reduction in people with type II diabetes and established cardiovascular diseases. Both Ozempic and Rybelsus witnessed strong uptake in the first quarter of 2021, somewhat making up for lower sales of Novo Nordisk’s older diabetes medicine, Victoza. Ozempic sales rose 52% at constant exchange rate while Rybelsus sales were up 247% in the first quarter of 2021.
Novo Nordisk is a key player in the diabetes market. However, the market is quite crowded with Sanofi SNY, Lilly LLY and Merck MRK being dominant players. Lilly has a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist, tirzepatide, in its diabetes pipeline, which it is evaluating in late-stage studies for obesity.
Novo Nordisk currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Novo Nordisk AS (NVO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Sanofi (SNY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
