FDA vows to crackdown on counterfeit weight loss drugs, Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B (NVO.US) and Eli Lilly (LLY.US) stock prices rebound.

The stock price of global pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B (Novo Nordisk), headquartered in Denmark, rose sharply by over 5% during the early trading session in European stock markets on Friday. This came after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pledged to take action against large-scale marketing of unapproved weight loss pill formulations, helping the stock recover some of the significant losses from the previous two trading days. In pre-market trading in the US, Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B's American depositary receipt (NVO.US) surged by over 8%; Eli Lilly (LLY.US), after dropping nearly 8% yesterday, also rose by almost 4%. On Thursday, US telehealth company Hims and Hers Health (HIMS.US) launched a significantly cheaper $49 generic version of the tablet form of Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B's FDA-approved weight loss drug Wegovy, causing a drop in the share prices of both Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B and Eli Lilly. According to reports, FDA director Marty Makary stated on the social media platform X, "The FDA will swiftly take action against companies marketing illegal generic weight loss drugs on a large scale, claiming their products are similar to FDA-approved weight loss drugs." He did not name any specific companies and mentioned, "The FDA cannot verify the quality, safety, or effectiveness of unapproved drugs." Following the FDA director's tweet, Hims & Hers Health's stock price plummeted in pre-market US trading, falling by over 7% at one point. Wegovy Pill, the world's first oral large molecule drug for weight loss - an oral semaglutide tablet, was just launched in the US at the beginning of the year. Since its launch on January 5th, it quickly became a star product in the local obesity market, with prescription volume jumping from 3,071 in the first four days to over 18,000 by the week ending January 16th, further increasing to 26,109 by the week ending January 23rd, showing strong market momentum. Resistance to injections and trust in oral medications are common psychological tendencies among patients with chronic diseases, including obesity and diabetes, and treatment compliance is essential for achieving effective treatment.