Novo Nordisk shares shrug off considerations over examine linking weight reduction medicine to uncommon eye situation

Novo Nordisk traders appeared unperturbed Thursday by a important Harvard report that linked weight reduction medicine to a uncommon eye situation.

Semaglutide, which is current in weight reduction medicine together with Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, may be related to an elevated threat of a uncommon eye illness, in line with a study carried out by Harvard Medical Faculty.

Analysts mentioned the examine outcomes have been “hardly a game-changer,” nonetheless. Shares within the Danish pharmaceutical firm’s shares have been little modified on Thursday, dipping in early morning commerce earlier than rising 0.1% as of 11:17 a.m. London time.

The Harvard report discovered that sufferers with sort 2 diabetes or weight problems, who’re prescribed semaglutide, have an elevated threat of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) — a situation which may result in lack of imaginative and prescient in a single eye. Sufferers have been extra prone to be recognized with the attention situation in comparison with sufferers who weren’t prescribed the burden loss medicine, the examine discovered.

Whereas the analysis paper does recommend “some correlation” with a uncommon ocular occasion, the standard of the proof is “vey low, the error bars are very vast,” in line with Deutsche Financial institution analyst Emmanuel Papadakis.

The worst case situation would possible be an extra replace to the label warning part of the medicine, which is “hardly a game-changer,” mentioned Papadakis.

He added that Deutsche Financial institution typically regards semaglutide medicines as “probably the most derisked therapeutic courses in trade historical past from a security perspective.”

A spokesperson from Novo Nordisk mentioned the optic nerve illness NAION isn’t an “opposed drug response for the marketed formulations of semaglutide” as per the permitted labels. They added that there are “key methodological limitations” to the examine such because the “small variety of folks” with sort 2 diabetes or weight problems that have been uncovered to semaglutide and have been included within the trial.

“Affected person security is a high precedence for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reviews about opposed occasions from use of our medicines very critically,” the spokesperson mentioned.

Recognition for the blockbuster medicine has seen Novo Nordisk develop to develop into probably the most invaluable firm in Europe, with a valuation bigger than Denmark’s complete gross home product final 12 months.

Wegovy has additionally been proven to have well being advantages past shedding weight and regulating blood sugar. The Meals and Drug Administration in March approved it to be used in lowering the danger of coronary heart illness.

The medicine, nonetheless, have confronted scrutiny after some sufferers reported experiencing stomach paralysis and suicidal ideation whereas taking them. A examine carried out by researchers on the College of British Columbia famous an elevated threat of bowel obstruction, a dysfunction the place meals is blocked from passing via the small or massive gut, and pancreatitis, or pancreas irritation.

The labels for the medicine already embrace warnings about pancreatitis and certain types of bowel obstruction. A change in imaginative and prescient can also be listed as a possible facet impact for each Ozempic and Wegovy.

The U.S. examine, which was printed on Wednesday, analysed knowledge from 16,827 sufferers from December 2017 via to November final 12 months. The researchers famous that additional examine is required to evaluate whether or not semaglutide causes the attention situation.

CNBC’s Jenni Reid contributed to this report.