The Wegovy pill showed more pronounced weight loss and less cumbersome side effects than Eli Lilly‘s rival pill that was approved this week, Novo Nordisk said Thursday. 

Oral Wegovy demonstrated “significantly greater mean weight loss” than orforglipron, which Lilly will sell under the brand name Foundayo from next week, in an indirect study that compared the outcomes of other studies.

Novo’s findings evaluated previously published studies of the medicines and did not include any fresh data points. It will present further details of the study at the Obesity Medicine Association’s annual conference next week, the Danish drugmaker said.

A separate analysis suggested that 84% of patients favored a drug profile similar to that of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, to that of Foundayo, Novo said. 

“These studies add to the growing body of evidence supporting the clinical strength of semaglutide and highlight attributes that patients value when choosing an obesity medicine that fits their lifestyle,” said newly-appointed Jamey Millar, executive vice president for U.S. operations. 

It comes as Novo and Lilly are both trying to shape the narrative of their respective pills, which is broadly considered to be the start of the next phase of the weight-loss drug era. The introduction of pills as an alternative to injections is expected to scale the market, as they are more easily distributed worldwide and favored by consumers. 

Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC this week that Foundayo is more accessible and can more easily be fitted into daily routines. 

Novo said Thursday that the latest findings suggest that the Wegovy pill can offer differentiation, which has become an important consideration as the anti-obesity space looks set to become increasingly competitive over the next few years. Hopeful market entrants are narrowing in on obesity-related diseases, weight maintenance, and better side-effect profiles. 

AstraZeneca‘s stock jumped nearly 5% after Britain’s most valuable company said its experimental lung disease medicine met its target in two late-stage clinical trials.

The respiratory treatment tozorakimab, reduced flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in both former smokers and in the overall population versus placebo, the company said.

“This marks a notable shift in sentiment, given limited conviction in the IL-33 mechanism following prior IL-33 failures from Sanofi and Roche,” said Jefferies analysts.

Tozorakimab and rival drugs belong to a class of treatments called monoclonal antibodies. They work ​by suppressing the action ⁠of the protein interleukin-33 (IL-33) and can reduce inflammation.

“Today’s tozorakimab results deliver the first two confirmatory Phase III trials for an IL-33 biologic, which is a major scientific advancement in COPD, the world’s third leading cause of death,” said Sharon Barr, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals and R&D at AstraZeneca.

“Tozorakimab works in a fundamentally different way from other biologics, inhibiting the signalling of the reduced and oxidised forms of IL-33 to both decrease inflammation and disrupt the cycle of mucus dysfunction that are key disease drivers in COPD,” Barr said.

The full results will be disclosed at an upcoming medical meeting, AstraZeneca said.

In July, Swiss drugmaker Roche reported mixed results for its COPD drug astegolimab, which ultimately failed to reduce flare-ups in a phase 3 study. Similar to tozorakimab, it is designed to stop the binding of IL-33.

Two months earlier, France’s Sanofi had reported similarly mixed results for its drug itepekimab which it is developing jointly with Regeneron.

AstraZeneca’s London-listed shares were last seen up 4.7% in midday trading, contrasting with the UK’s FTSE 100 index which fell 0.4%. Astra’s Friday update also lifted shares of Roche and Sanofi by around 1% each.

Nearly 400 million people are diagnosed with COPD, and it’s one of the leading causes of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

It’s a progressive respiratory condition that manifests through breathlessness, chronic cough, and excess mucus production. Symptoms can worsen over time and contribute to ongoing inflammation and bronchoconstriction, making it difficult to breathe and increasing the risk of COPD exacerbations.

AstraZeneca has forecast tozorakimab peak annual sales of between $3 billion and $5 billion, whereas estimates on average put peak sales at about $1 billion prior to Friday’s trial results, according to FactSet.

The trial results showed a benefit for both former and current smokers, across all lung‑function severities.

It also indicated a benefit for patients with a low amount of a type of white blood cell called eosinophil, which is a key unmet need for about 35% of patients, Citi analysts noted.

Tozorakimab is also being studied in a Phase 3 trial for severe viral lower respiratory tract disease and in a Phase 2 trial in asthma.

Astra is planning to launch more than 20 new drugs over the next five years and has targeted $80 ⁠billion in annual sales by 2030.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a higher-dose version of Novo Nordisk‘s blockbuster weight loss injection Wegovy, as the company pushes to win back market share from chief rival Eli Lilly.

Novo expects to launch the higher, 7.2-milligram dose of Wegovy in April. The Danish drugmaker is positioning that version to better compete with Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound, which has proven to be more effective at promoting weight loss than the standard, 2.4-milligram dose of Wegovy.

That higher efficacy has helped Zepbound become the preferred obesity medication among prescribers and patients, even though it entered the U.S. market later than Wegovy, and has solidified Lilly’s position as the dominant player in the space.

The high-dose Wegovy helped patients with obesity lose an average 20.7% of their weight after 72 weeks in a phase three trial. The standard dose of Wegovy has shown around 15% weight loss on average in clinical trials.

“I think it really makes it more competitive, and it really reduces the delta there,” Dr. Jason Brett, principal U.S. medical head at Novo Nordisk, said in an interview Thursday ahead of the approval.

“But even more importantly, I think it just gives patients another option if they’re not reaching their targets, and achieving some of these higher weight losses for certain patients,” he added.

In a separate phase three trial on patients with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, high-dose Wegovy demonstrated an average weight loss of 14.1%. People with diabetes typically have a harder time losing weight than people without the condition.

It marks the first approval of a GLP-1 treatment under the FDA’s new national priority voucher plan that aims to cut drug review times to one to two months for companies the agency says are supporting U.S. national health priorities. The FDA launched the pilot plan in June.

Novo Nordisk has dropped its legal case against telehealth provider Hims & Hers over patent infringement, after the two companies agreed Hims would sell Novo’s branded medicines through its platform. 

“We have decided to drop the current court proceedings and, of course, we reserve to bring that back if need be, but I don’t foresee that happening,” Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on Monday.

Under the agreement, Hims will offer access to injectable and oral semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, at the same price as other telehealth platforms, and Hims will no longer advertise compounded GLP-1 drugs on its platform or in its marketing, the companies said in statements on Monday. 

Shares of Hims soared more than 40% in morning trading while Novo’s Copenhagen-listed stock climbed 2.1%. The pan-European blue-chip index Stoxx 600 was trading 1% lower, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%.

In February, Novo said it would sue Hims for what it called “mass illegal compounding” after the latter announced it would sell a copycat version of the Wegovy pill for $49, roughly $100 less than Novo sells the branded pill for through its direct-to-consumer platform NovoCare. 

Hims quickly pulled the pill after backlash from both Novo and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA pledged to take “decisive steps” to restrict practises by compounding pharmacies, and referring Hims to the Department of Justice for potential violations of federal law.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said he was glad to see that Hims will stop advertising unapproved compounded drugs and instead sell FDA-approved products through the deal with Novo.

“Importantly, they will keep them affordable (no increase in price) and limit compounded GLP-1s for rare (FDA compliant) cases,” Makary wrote in a post on X.

Hims has profited hugely from selling copycat versions of the blockbuster weight-loss drug through a loophole in U.S. regulations that allows companies other than the patent holder to sell a drug if it is in shortage.

While semaglutide was in shortage in the early days of the medicine, Novo has since resolved supply restraints as it ramped up manufacturing. Hims, however, continued selling copycat versions of the drugs, arguing that its copies are “personalized” and therefore legal.

Semaglutide’s patent is protected in the U.S. until 2032.

Last year, Novo and Hims partnered to offer discounted weight loss jabs to the telehealth company’s customers. Novo ended the collaboration just two months later and said Hims used “deceptive” marketing that put patient safety at risk.

“It’s a very different situation than the last time we did this,” Doustdar told CNBC.

“Hims & Hers have agreed that upon receiving our products, they will no longer advertise, promote, market compounded products to the masses,” he said, adding that Hims has now agreed to change its business model to reserve the compounding versions “only to those rare cases where they’re needed.”

Novo now has more than 600,000 Wegovy pill scripts, Doustdar said.

Doustdar acknowledged that at the time of launching the Wegovy pill in January, there were question marks, “a bit fuelled by our competitor,” that certain food restrictions may limit the uptake of the pill.  

“Well, I have news for you, this has been absolutely not the case,” he said. “People are really interested because it’s the most efficacious pill right now in the market.”

Hims’ existing patients on compounding semaglutide “will have the opportunity to transition to FDA-approved medicines when determined clinically appropriate by their providers,” Hims said in a statement.

Speaking to CNBC’s Brandon Gomez, Hims CEO Andrew Dudum highlighted the rapidly shifting landscape for anti-obesity drugs.

“The demand will continue to accelerate with the new assortment that’s coming out, and the assortment really does serve the needs across affordability, personalization, form factor that historically, even just six months ago and 12 months ago did not exist,” he said.

Hims is also in conversation with anybody who can bring new therapies to the platform, he added, “whether that’s existing biotech or existing large drug companies.”

Zepbound-maker Eli Lilly is expected to launch a rival weight loss pill called orforglipron in the second quarter, pending FDA approval.

Novo Nordisk is investing 432 million euros ($506 million) in a facility in Ireland as it expands its production capacities to make the newly launched Wegovy pill, the Danish drugmaker said Monday.

The news comes about two months after Novo launched its blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy in pill form in the U.S. market, in what has been described as one of the strongest launches ever. 

“With the investment in the Athlone facility, Novo Nordisk is expanding its production capacities for oral products, which will strengthen our ability to meet both current and future demand, outside the US,” said Kasper Bødker Mejlvang, Novo’s executive vice president of chemistry, manufacturing and controls and product supply.

It follows Novo Nordisk losing market share to Eli Lilly, and investors doubting that its pipeline holds enough promise to win it back. The stock has tumbled as a result, and currently trades at roughly a quarter of what it did at its peak in mid-2024.

“The investment is a sign of increasing focus and bet on the oral space from Novo Nordisk – an area where Novo has an edge,” Jyske Bank analyst Henrik Hallengreen Laustsen told CNBC Monday.

Novo enjoyed a first-mover advantage in the anti-obesity market and launched its GLP-1 drug semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, years before Lilly’s rival medicine. 

It did, however, misjudge the demand for its weight loss jabs. With semaglutide in short supply, compounding pharmacies were allowed to flourish through a loophole in U.S. regulations, which allows the legal making of patented drugs during a shortage. 

Supply issues have since been resolved as Novo ramped up manufacturing capacity. Even so, compunders continue to sell cheaper copycat versions of the drug, and it is still weighing on Novo’s sales. The company is involved in multiple legal battles over intellectual property.

Novo Nordisk stock fell over 10% Monday after it said its next-generation weight loss drug didn’t meet its primary target.

The drug, CagriSema, didn’t achieve its primary endpoint of demonstrating non-inferiority on weight loss when compared to Eli Lilly‘s rival drug tirzepatide after 84 weeks, Novo said in a statement Monday morning.

Eli Lilly‘s stock rose 2.1% in premarket trading.

Novo is exploring additional trials to test CagriSema, including higher-dose combinations, it said.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended President Donald Trump’s executive order spurring the domestic production of the weedkiller glyphosate, as his Make America Healthy Again movement reels from the president’s embrace of the chemical they despise.

Trump on Wednesday night signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to compel the domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides. Glyphosate is the chemical in Bayer-Monsanto’s Roundup and is the most commonly used weedkiller for a slew of U.S. crops. Trump, in the order, said shortages of both phosphorus and glyphosate would pose a risk to national security.

Kennedy backed the president in a statement to CNBC Thursday morning.

“Donald Trump’s Executive Order puts America first where it matters most — our defense readiness and our food supply,” he said. “We must safeguard America’s national security first, because all of our priorities depend on it. When hostile actors control critical inputs, they weaken our security. By expanding domestic production, we close that gap and protect American families.”

But Kennedy’s MAHA coalition that supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election hates glyphosate, which has been alleged to cause cancer in myriad lawsuits. Now, the executive order threatens to unravel that coalition ahead of the 2026 midterm elections that could loosen the president’s grip on Washington.

“Just as the large MAHA base begins to consider what to do at midterms, the President issues an EO to expand domestic glyphosate production,” Kelly Ryerson, a prominent MAHA activist known as Glyphosate Girl, said in a post on X. “The very same carcinogenic pesticide that MAHA cares about most.”

Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a watchdog that has pushed back against chemicals in food for years, said in a statement that he “can’t envision a bigger middle finger to every MAHA mom than this.”

“Elevating glyphosate to a national security priority is the exact opposite of what MAHA voters were promised,” Cook said. “If Secretary Kennedy remains at HHS after this, it will be impossible to argue that his past warnings about glyphosate were anything more than campaign rhetoric designed to win trust — and votes.”

Kennedy, a former environmental attorney, notably once won a nearly $290 million case against Monsanto for a man who claimed his cancer was caused by Roundup. The executive order came down one day after Bayer proposed paying $7.25 billion to settle a series of lawsuits claiming Roundup causes cancer.

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., knocked Trump for signing “an EO protecting cancer causing Glyphosate in our foods.”

Glyphosate is a critical chemical to American agriculture. It’s applied to many key cash crops, such as corn and soybeans, and has been defended by agricultural trade organizations. Phosphorus is a key input to the creation of glyphosate, which the White House argues is necessary to maintain food security. Elemental phosphorus is also used in the manufacture of some military materials.

“Thank you, President Trump, for acknowledging the importance of glyphosate-based herbicides in American agriculture,” the House Agriculture Committee said Wednesday night in an X post. “This is a vital step forward in ensuring a domestic supply of this critical crop input remains available for our producers.”

House Agriculture Chair Rep. G.T. Thompson, R-Pa., is trying to push a farm bill through Congress this year — a legislative package that covers federal farm support and nutrition subsidies. He’s also come under fire from MAHA recently for a provision in that bill that would block state and local pesticide regulations from differing from federal guidance.

Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar on Wednesday said the company is aiming to capture around 15 million new patients, at least initially, when Medicare starts covering obesity treatments for the first time later this year.

Around 67 million Americans are covered by Medicare, but “when you take a look at specifically our products and the target group, I think around 15 million people would be a good number to target,” he told CNBC in an interview. 

Medicare is slated to start covering obesity medicines for the first time later this year under the landmark “most-favored-nation” drug pricing deals that Novo and its chief rival, Eli Lilly, struck with President Donald Trump in November.

Health experts say the long-awaited coverage could broaden the market for the medicines and spur more private insurers to cover them. Some experts estimate that 20 million to 30 million Medicare patients are suffering from obesity and related conditions.

Doustdar said Medicare coverage, along with the launch of Novo’s new obesity pill and other factors, should help the company gradually boost prescription volumes and offset lower prices in the U.S. following that agreement with Trump. 

But he said he doesn’t expect Medicare access to obesity treatments to open up overnight. 

“Now, it would be great if we could find a way to get access very, very fast. But I think that would be a bit naive,” Doustdar said, pointing to the slow adoption seen among eligible patients with commercial insurance. 

It’s a slightly more conservative tone on the initial impact of Medicare coverage compared with Lilly, which has cited that coverage as a key tail wind to its guidance this year. Last week, Lilly said it expects Medicare coverage to come online by July. 

Meanwhile, Doustdar said Novo is in the midst of negotiations with the government on “exactly which month, which week that is going to be opening.”