EU Panel Endorses Two Wegovy Variants as Novo Nordisk's Obesity Pipeline Gains Momentum
24.05.2026 - 17:02:03 | boerse-global.de
A rare double recommendation from the European Medicines Agency's human medicines committee has handed Novo Nordisk a well-timed boost. On 22 May, the CHMP backed both an oral Wegovy pill and a high-dose injectable pen for obesity, offering the Danish drugmaker fresh ammunition just as competitive pressure from Eli Lilly intensifies and its stock remains weighed down from its 2025 peak.
The oral formulation — a once-daily 25 mg tablet of semaglutide — marks a first for Europe. If formally approved by the European Commission, it would become the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist authorised for weight management in the EU. Clinical data from the OASIS-4 study showed a mean weight loss of 16.6% in overweight or obese patients with at least one comorbidity who adhered to treatment. A practical edge is its lack of drug interaction restrictions, a potential differentiator against rival oral therapies. The pill has already reached over 1 million users in the US within four months of its December 2025 launch, and Novo Nordisk plans to introduce it in select European markets during the second half of 2026.
The second green light covers Wegovy 7.2 mg delivered as a weekly injection in a single-use pen. This high-dose variant produced mean weight loss of 20.7% in the STEP-UP study, with roughly one-third of participants shedding 25% or more. For patients with type 2 diabetes, the average reduction was 14.1%. The key innovation here is convenience: the same weekly dose previously required three separate 2.4 mg injections. Wegovy HD is already available in the US and the UK under that brand name, and Novo Nordisk expects to bring it to EU patients in the third quarter of 2026.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Novo Nordisk?
The regulatory news arrives alongside a nascent recovery in the company's shares. The stock closed at €38.74 on Friday, up 1.25% on the day and roughly 16% over the past month. Yet it still trades about 45% below the 52-week high of €70.13 set in June 2025. The recent uptick reflects early signs of investor relief after first-quarter results proved stronger than feared: the oral pill alone contributed around $353 million in sales from already-launched markets, while group adjusted operating profit came in at 32.86 billion Danish kroner on adjusted revenues of 70.06 billion kroner.
Eli Lilly is not standing still. Its rival obesity therapy Zepbound (tirzepatide) is pushing deeper into Europe in both injectable and oral forms, and in April Lilly launched Foundayo, a direct competitor to Novo's oral pill. The Danish company's window to cement its position is narrowing, making the pending European Commission decision on these Wegovy formulations all the more crucial.
Near-term catalysts could keep the stock momentum alive. Next week, at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) congress in Barcelona, Novo Nordisk is set to present new data on semaglutide's efficacy in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Positive results would bolster the case for the GLP-1 platform beyond diabetes and weight loss. Investors will then look to the half-year results on 5 August to see whether the regulatory wins are translating into commercial traction.
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