Today, shares in Novo Nordisk jumped over 7% in premarket trading after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s highly anticipated weight-loss pill.
The pill’s success has given the Danish pharmaceutical company an advantage in the competition to develop a strong oral weight-loss medication as it aims to reclaim its lost position from competitor Eli Lilly.
The pill is 25 milligrams of semaglutide, the same active ingredient in injectable Wegovy and Ozempic, and will be sold under the brand name Wegovy. The initial dose of 1.5 milligrams will be supplied at pharmacies and from select telehealth providers for $149 per month.
According to results from the trial, the oral semaglutide helped patients lose an average of 16.6% of their weight after 64 weeks.
Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of U.S. operations stated, “What we’ve learned through years of research is that having an oral option really kind of opens up, activates and motivates different segments to seek treatment.”
Novo Nordisk announced that manufacturing has commenced at its facilities in North Carolina.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
