Novo Nordisk shares jump on positive trial results with OG217SC

Shares of Danish diabetes care giant Novo Nordisk (NOV: N) jumped 5% to 312.20 Danish kroner in early afternoon trading today, after the company released positive results from a Phase II trial of an oral version of a long-acting GLP-1 for treatment of people with type 2 diabetes.

Novo Nordisk said it has successfully completed the Phase II trial for OG217SC; an oral formulation of the long-acting GLP-1 analogue semaglutide, investigating dose range, escalation, efficacy and safety of once-daily oral semaglutide (which is in Phase III development) compared with oral placebo or once-weekly subcutaneously administered semaglutide in around 600 people with type 2 diabetes treated for 26 weeks.

From a mean baseline HbA1c of 7.9%, people treated with oral semaglutide in five different doses ranging from 2.5mg to 40mg achieved dose-dependent improvements in HbA1c of 0.7% to 1.9% after 26 weeks. By comparison, people treated with a dose of 1mg subcutaneous semaglutide or placebo achieved improvements of 1.9% and 0.3%, respectively. Confirming the primary end-point of the trial, all doses of oral semaglutide were statistically significantly superior to placebo.

Significant weight loss also observed