The pharmaceutical industry was shaken by Roche's (RHHBY.US) new drug, which "scared" the weight loss drug sector, causing Lilly(LLY.US) and Novo Nordisk(NVO.US) to fall.
AInvestWednesday, Jul 17, 2024 7:40 pm ET
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Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY.US), Novo Nordisk (NVO.US), and Roche (RHHBY.US) fell on Wednesday after Roche announced positive results from a trial of its oral weight-loss drug. The announcement of Roche's second drug candidate from its acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics added to the competition in the weight-loss drug market. As of Wednesday's closing bell, Roche rose 7.53%, Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk fell 3.87%, Zepbound maker Eli Lilly fell 3.82%, and obesity drug upstart Viking Therapeutics (VKTX.US) fell 12.56%. Zealand Pharma, a Danish biotech company also developing its own obesity treatment, fell 8.4%. Roche said in a trial, its experimental oral pill CT-996 reduced the average weight of obese patients without type 2 diabetes by 6.1% in four weeks. "We are excited to see that patients receiving oral GLP-1 therapy with CT-996 are experiencing clinically meaningful weight loss, which may ultimately help patients address both long-term weight management and glucose control," said Levi Garraway, Roche's chief medical officer. The news comes as the obesity drug industry is growing rapidly and intensifying competition, with Roche's oral drug potentially offering an attractive alternative for patients who don't like injections. Roche completed its acquisition of obesity drug developer Carmot Therapeutics in January. In May, the company released early research data for another obesity drug, CT-388. However, Roche's chief executive, Teresa Graham, said last December that oral obesity drugs could take years to become a blockbuster.

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