Photo shows the logo of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche in Basel.
Sébastien Bozon | AFP | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Company Shares fell on Wednesday Roche announced promising early-stage trial data for its latest obesity drug candidate.
Swiss pharmaceutical giant said wednesday The acquisition of a second drug candidate from Carmot Therapeutics showed positive results, further increasing competition in the weight loss drug market.
Roche shares rose 5.8% in Wednesday trading. Meanwhile, shares in Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk closed down 4% in Europe, while Zepbound maker Eli Lilly fell about 3% in early U.S. trading.
Danish biotech stocks new zealand pharmaceutical companywhich is also developing its own obesity treatmentdown 8.4%.
Roche said its experimental once-daily pill CT-996 reduced a placebo-adjusted mean weight loss of 6.1% over four weeks in obese patients without type 2 diabetes in a Phase I trial.
“We are pleased to see clinically meaningful weight loss in patients treated with our oral GLP-1 therapy, CT-996, which ultimately can help patients address long-term weight management and glycemic control challenges,” said Levi Garraway, chief medical officer at Roche. question.
The results come as competition intensifies in the fast-growing weight-loss drug sector, with Roche’s oral drug potentially providing an attractive alternative for patients who don’t like injections.
Roche is done get Anti-obesity drug developer Carmot Therapeutics JanuaryMay d The company released promising early data on another weight loss drug candidate, CT-388.
However, Roche CEO Theresa Graham told CNBC It was revealed in December that oral obesity treatments may still be years away from being widely available.
