{"id":130663,"date":"2026-07-16T19:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/130663\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T19:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:34:11","slug":"nvo-stock-up-on-ec-approval-of-wegovy-pill-to-treat-obesity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/130663\/","title":{"rendered":"NVO Stock Up on EC Approval of Wegovy Pill to Treat Obesity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Novo Nordisk NVO received a boost after the European Commission (EC) approved once-daily oral version of Wegovy (semaglutide 25 mg) for the treatment of adults with obesity, with at least one weight-related comorbidity, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. <\/p>\n

The approval expands the company’s obesity franchise in Europe and provides a convenient oral alternative that could broaden patient adoption and support long-term sales growth. <\/p>\n

The latest EC approval follows a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in May 2026. <\/p>\n

The EC also approved the 7.2 mg single-dose Wegovy injection pen for the treatment of obesity. <\/p>\n

More on NVO’s Latest EC Approval <\/p>\n

The approval was based on the phase III OASIS clinical trial program, including the 64-week OASIS 4 study evaluating once-daily oral semaglutide 25 mg in adults with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity. <\/p>\n

Results showed that patients treated with oral semaglutide achieved an average weight loss of approximately 17% compared with about 3% in the placebo group, both in combination with lifestyle intervention. Nearly one-third of patients receiving the drug achieved at least 20% weight loss. <\/p>\n

The safety profile of oral semaglutide was consistent with that of injectable semaglutide, with adverse event-related treatment discontinuation rates of 6.9% compared with 5.9% for placebo. <\/p>\n

With this decision, Wegovy pill becomes the first GLP-1 receptor agonist available in tablet form for weight management across the EU. The approval marks the fifth regulatory authorization for Wegovy pill after the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. <\/p>\n

The global phase III OASIS program evaluated oral semaglutide 25 mg and 50 mg across four studies involving approximately 1,300 adults with obesity or overweight and one or more weight-related comorbidities. <\/p>\n

How Is Novo Nordisk Positioned in the Obesity Market? <\/p>\n

Pharma giant Eli Lilly LLY is Novo Nordisk’s biggest rival in the lucrative obesity market.\u00a0 Lilly now competes in both injectable and oral obesity therapies with Zepbound and the recently launched oral GLP-1 drug, Foundayo. LLY has further strengthened its position by securing broader reimbursement support from major U.S. pharmacy benefit managers, including CVS Caremark, which should improve patient access and support prescription growth. <\/p>\n

NVO is broadening semaglutide’s commercial opportunity through multiple label expansions. Wegovy is now approved not only for obesity but also for reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with known heart disease and either obesity or overweight. <\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

However, Novo Nordisk is facing significant headwinds as of now \u2014 U.S. pricing pressure, softer injectable GLP-1 prescription trends, reduced Medicaid obesity coverage, the proposed “Most Favored Nation” pricing framework, gradual semaglutide exclusivity erosion and elevated investments in R&D, manufacturing and commercialization. <\/p>\n

The stock gained 3% on July 15 following the news. Year to date, Novo Nordisk shares have lost 0.6% against the industry’s 8.7% growth. <\/p>\n

\"Zacks<\/a> Zacks Investment Research <\/p>\n

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research <\/p>\n

Although management raised guidance after first-quarter results, it still expects declines in both sales and operating profit in 2026, highlighting continued pressure on the core business. <\/p>\n

Novo Nordisk is also developing several next-generation obesity candidates in its pipeline, especially targeting the lucrative U.S. market. NVO has submitted a regulatory filing seeking the approval of CagriSema injection, a follow-up drug to Wegovy, for obesity. <\/p>\n

Zacks Rank and Key Picks <\/p>\n

NVO currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). <\/p>\n

A couple of better-ranked stocks from the sector are Liquidia Corporation LQDA and Novavax NVAX, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. <\/p>\n

Over the past 60 days, estimates for Liquidia’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) have increased from $2.97 to $3.02. Over the same period, EPS estimates for 2027 have also increased from $4.81 to $4.92. LQDA shares have skyrocketed more than 125% year to date. <\/p>\n

Liquidia’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in the remaining one, with the average surprise being 54.40%. <\/p>\n

Over the past 60 days, estimates for Novavax’s 2026 loss per share have narrowed from 20 cents to 19 cents. Over the same period, loss estimates for 2027 have narrowed from 31 cents to 25 cents. NVAX shares have gained nearly 25.5% year to date. <\/p>\n

Novavax’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 305.24%. <\/p>\n

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report<\/a> <\/p>\n

Novo Nordisk A\/S (NVO) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/a> <\/p>\n

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/a> <\/p>\n

Novavax, Inc. (NVAX) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/a> <\/p>\n

Liquidia Corporation (LQDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/a> <\/p>\n

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).<\/a> <\/p>\n

Zacks Investment Research<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Novo Nordisk NVO received a boost after the European Commission (EC) approved once-daily oral version of Wegovy (semaglutide…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[271],"tags":[63537,32071,272,357,11852,63536,1910,317],"class_list":["post-130663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-novo-nordisk","tag-ec-approval","tag-european-medicines-agency","tag-novo-nordisk","tag-obesity","tag-the-european-commission","tag-treatment-of-obesity","tag-wegovy","tag-weight-management"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116931334444646956","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}