The logo of the Danish pharmaceutical company at its headquarters in Bagsvård outside Copenhagen, Denmark on February 1, 2017.
Liselotte Sabro | AFP | Getty Images
Obesity drug maker Wegovy has overtaken Novo Nordisk Tesla In market value, after new early trial data showed positive results for the new experimental weight loss pill.
Shares of the Danish company hit a record high on Thursday, rising as much as 8%, after telling investors that a phase 1 trial of the company's amicretin pill showed 13.1% weight loss in participants after 12 weeks.
Novo Nordisk is now the world's 12th most valuable company, with a market capitalization of $604 billion — ahead of Tesla's $569 billion, according to FactSet data.
Shares were trading slightly lower on Friday, down 0.5% by 10:00 AM London time.
The top 15 companies by market capitalization
Source: FactSet, March 8
Thursday's rally extends a months-long rally for Novo Nordisk, as excitement builds around the weight-loss drug and its potential applications more broadly. The company is now the most valuable in Europe, with its valuation surpassing Denmark's total GDP last year.
The early Amicretin data represents a new milestone for Novo Nordisk, potentially offering a more effective and less invasive alternative to the injectable-based Wegovy and Ozempic drugs that have already achieved widespread success. Wegovy showed a 6% weight loss in a 12-week trial, while Ozempic is a treatment for diabetes.
The company said Thursday that a Phase 2 trial of amicretin will begin in the second half of this year, with results expected in early 2026. The treatment will then undergo Phase 3 and Phase 4 trials, a process that could take years.
Martin Holst-Lange, Novo's head of development, said on Friday that he expects the pill to be available to consumers “within this decade.”
“I've never committed to timetables, but it would be a relief to say so at least within this decade,” Lange said, according to Reuters.
The company also said it expects Amicritin, and its other new investigational obesity drug CagriSema, to have similar heart benefits to Wegovy.
Earlier on Thursday, Novo Nordisk said it was expanding its focus to include cardiovascular disease treatments, as it seeks to position its offerings as more than just a “decorative” drug.
Ozempic delays the progression of chronic kidney disease in people with diabetes, reducing the risk of death from it and major heart events by 24%, a large late-stage study showed Tuesday.
This follows previous studies that showed Wegovy reduced the risk of serious cardiovascular complications in people with obesity and heart disease.
Investors have been closely monitoring the development of obesity treatments and the core appetite suppressant drug class GLP-1, signaling its broader market implications.
Prior to recent developments, Barclays predicted in 2023 that the weight-loss drug industry would be worth $200 billion by the end of the decade, and its applications would likely disrupt sectors beyond healthcare.
CNBC's Ganesh Rao contributed to this story.
