Novo Nordisk shares up on promise of latest obesity asset

Shares in Novo Nordisk (NOV: N) frequently jump upwards when the latest data on the company’s blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy (semaglutide) are released.

But Wednesday’s rise of around 2% in the company’s market value can be attributed to another obesity drug being developed by the Danish drugmaker.

While Wegovy is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, mimicking the action of the gut hormone GLP-1, amycretin mimics the action of two peptide hormones in one single molecule. The latter is both an amylin and GLP-1 receptor agonist. Both of these play a key role in appetite regulation and a feeling of hunger, and have been shown to lead to weight loss.