Novo Nordisk Shares Up After Wegovy Gets U.S. Nod for Liver Disease Treatment

Shares in Novo Nordisk rose Monday after the U.S. approved its weight-loss drug Wegovy for treatment of a serious liver condition—welcome news for the drugmaker, which lost more than one-third of its market value in recent weeks, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Elviira Luoma reported for Reuters.

Wegovy is the first GLP-1 therapy cleared for the progressive liver condition, which affects around 5% of U.S. adults. (Photo: novoMEDLINK)

Novo’s stock climbed as much as 5% at the open and was still up 3.5% by 0711 GMT. Just three weeks earlier, investors had wiped $70 billion off its market value after the company issued a profit warning and named a veteran executive as its new CEO.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted accelerated approval for Wegovy to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), making it the first GLP-1 therapy cleared for the progressive liver condition, which affects around 5% of U.S. adults.

Rival Eli Lilly has reported encouraging mid-stage trial data for its own MASH treatment based on tirzepatide, the active ingredient in its diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss therapy Zepbound.