Big Winners: 10 Stocks Refusing to take a Holiday

7. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Novo Nordisk grew its share prices by 8.96 percent week-on-week as investors cheered the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the pill version of its blockbuster weight loss treatment, Wegovy.

In a statement last week, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) said that the FDA has approved the Wegovy pill, a once-daily oral treatment, to reduce excess body weight. The drug is the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy approved for weight management.

The approval was based on the results of the Oasis and Select clinical trials, where it saw a 16.6 percent mean weight loss in obese patients with one or more comorbidities.

The weight loss was said to be as effective as the injectable type of Wegovy.

“The pill is here. With today’s approval of the Wegovy pill, patients will have a convenient, once-daily pill that can help them lose as much weight as the original Wegovy injection,” said Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) President and CEO Mike Doustdar.

“As the first oral GLP-1 treatment for people living with overweight or obesity, the Wegovy pill provides patients with a new, convenient treatment option that can help patients start or continue their weight loss journey. No other current oral GLP-1 treatment can match the weight loss delivered by the Wegovy pill, and we are very excited for what this will mean for patients in the US,” he noted.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) is targeting to launch the pill version in the US early next month. It has also sought the approval of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulatory authorities for the said therapy to sell and market the product in Europe.