Shares of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly declined after Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche reported promising results for its experimental weight loss pill.
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Roche announced early Wednesday that its weight loss pill, CT-996, led to an average weight loss of 7.3% in patients over four weeks in an ongoing early-stage trial.
“We are pleased to see the clinically meaningful weight loss in people treated with our oral GLP-1 therapy CT-996, which could eventually help patients address both chronic weight management and glycaemic control indications,” said Roche’s chief medical officer, Levi Garraway, in a press release.
Following the announcement, Roche shares surged 6%, while stocks for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly fell 4% and 3%, respectively.
Roche is among several pharmaceutical companies aiming to disrupt the current weight loss drug duopoly dominated by Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly, the producer of Zepbound.
Morgan Stanley analysts project that the global market for these GLP-1 treatments will reach $105 billion by 2030.
Roche joined the competition after acquiring Carmot Therapeutics earlier this year for $2.7 billion, a deal that included CT-996 and other weight loss drug candidates.
In May, Roche reported that patients taking CT-388, a weekly injection, lost an average of 18.8% of their weight after 24 weeks.
Comparison of Roche’s weight loss pill with others
Several pharmaceutical companies, including Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, are working on oral GLP-1 drugs. These weight loss pills could appeal to individuals who are reluctant to take injections and could also help ease current supply constraints.
In an early-stage trial, Novo Nordisk’s Amycretin users lost an average of 13% of their body weight in 12 weeks.
Eli Lilly’s Orforglipron helped users lose nearly 15% of their weight after 36 weeks in a phase 2 trial.
Another clinical study showed that patients taking a daily dose of Structure Therapeutics’ experimental weight loss pill GSBR-1290 experienced a 6.2% placebo-adjusted average weight loss over 12 weeks.