Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B(NVO.US) releases results of late-stage trial of high-dose Wegovy showing successful weight loss of over 20% after 72 weeks.

Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B (NVO.US) announced on Friday that in a late-stage trial, its popular obesity treatment drug semaglutide (known as Wegovy) at a higher dose of 7.2 milligrams resulted in a weight loss of 20.7% within 72 weeks. The Danish pharmaceutical company cited data from its STEP-UP 3b phase study, stating that patients taking the conventional 2.4 milligram Wegovy lost 17.5% of their weight during this period, while patients in the placebo group lost 2.4% of their weight. The company added that this trial involving over 1400 obese adults without diabetes reached its primary endpoint, showing that weight loss with semaglutide 7.2 milligrams was statistically significant compared to the placebo group at week 72. However, Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B experienced a drop in pre-market trading on US stocks, while its competitor in the obesity field, Eli Lilly (LLY.US), also had a lackluster performance. At the time of writing, Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B was down over 4% in pre-market trading, while Eli Lilly was down 0.5%. According to Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B, the 7.2 milligram version is safe and well-tolerated in the study. The company added that as expected with GLP-1 class drugs, most adverse events associated with 7.2 milligram semaglutide were gastrointestinal in nature, and severity decreased over time. Martin Holst Lange, Executive Vice President of Drug Development at Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B, said, "In addition to the health benefits already established by Wegovy, the results of STEP UP further strengthen the clinical effectiveness of semaglutide for obesity treatment." The company's second trial, STEP UP T2D, is expected to produce data in the coming months as part of its global STEP program targeting obese patients with type 2 diabetes.