Novo Nordisk celebrates success with new weight loss drug

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk saw its shares rise significantly in value on Friday, rising by more than 12% in the pre-trading phase, following the announcement of favourable results from clinical trials for its latest weight loss product, amycretin.

The new drug, which works on a similar principle to Wegovy's and Ozempic's successful products, has shown the ability to reduce body weight by up to 22% in the early stages of clinical trials. The trials, which involved 125 people, were conducted over a 36-week period with gradual dose increases. The highest dose achieved, 20 mg, produced the best results. The company also tested a pill form of the drug with the same formulation at the same time, but the results of this variant were disappointing late last year.

Hope for a competitive market

According to analyst Jared Holz of Mizuho, the discovery could provide a significant boost to Novo Nordisk $NVO's share price . "The new findings could significantly help the company's stock,…