A photo showing the logo of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche in Basel.<\/p>\n
SEBASTIEN BOZON | AFP | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk<\/a> and Eli Lilly<\/a> shares slid Wednesday after Roche<\/a> announced promising early-stage trial data from its latest obesity drug candidate.<\/p>\n The Swiss pharmaceutical giant said Wednesday<\/a> that a second drug candidate from its purchase of Carmot Therapeutics indicated positive results, further heating up competition in the weight loss medication market.<\/p>\n Roche shares jumped 5.8% in Wednesday’s trade. Meanwhile, shares of Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk fell 4% by the European close, while Zepbound producer Eli Lilly was around 3% lower in U.S. late-morning trade.<\/p>\n Shares of Danish biotech company Zealand Pharma<\/a>, which is also developing its own obesity treatment<\/a>, fell 8.4%.<\/p>\n Roche said its experimental once-daily pill CT-996 resulted in a placebo-adjusted average weight loss of 6.1% within four weeks in obese patients without Type 2 diabetes in a Phase I trial.<\/p>\n More CNBC health coverage<\/p>\n “We are pleased to see the clinically meaningful weight loss in people treated with our oral GLP-1 therapy CT-996, which could eventually help patients address both chronic weight management and glycemic control indications,” Roche’s chief medical officer, Levi Garraway, said in the Wednesday statement.<\/p>\n The results come as competition mounts in the fast-growing weight loss drug sector, with Roche’s oral pill likely to provide an appealing alternative for patients who dislike injections.<\/p>\n Roche completed its acquisition<\/a> of anti-obesity drug developer Carmot Therapeutics in January, and in May<\/a> the firm released promising early-stage data for another one of its weight loss drug candidates, CT-388.<\/p>\n However, Roche Pharmaceuticals CEO Teresa Graham told CNBC<\/a> in December that it may be several years before the oral obesity treatments are widely available.<\/p>\n