New Drug Shows Excellent Results in Clinical Trials... Stock Price Soars
Investors Praise It as "Passing Grade in Every Aspect"
The stock price of Zealand, a Danish pharmaceutical company, surged 18% on the 21st (local time) after its newly developed diet drug showed promising results in clinical trials. The stock price even recorded an intraday high increase of 23%.
Zealand's stock rally followed its announcement on the previous day, the 20th, that a high dose of the long-acting amylin analog Petrelintide, taken for 16 weeks, resulted in an average weight loss of up to 8.6%.
The placebo group showed only a 1.7% weight loss. However, one out of 48 clinical trial participants dropped out due to side effects.
Zealand self-assessed that “Petrelintide was judged to be safe and tolerable at all dose levels.” The company expressed optimism, stating that the clinical trial results suggest that the amylin class has potential as a diet drug and could be an alternative to existing GLP-1 receptor agonist-based weight loss drugs.
David Kendal, Zealand’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), emphasized that their diet drug achieves weight loss effects comparable to GLP-1 receptor agonists while patients feel more comfortable.
Analysts also gave positive reviews. Investment bank Jefferies judged in an analysis note that Zealand’s Phase 1 clinical trial results were satisfactory in every aspect. Jefferies evaluated that amylin, the main component of Petrelintide, signals the possibility of becoming an alternative to the GLP-1 class.
Currently, the diet drug market is dominated by GLP-1 receptor agonist-based drugs such as Denmark’s Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and the United States’ Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. Eli Lilly became the world’s largest pharmaceutical company by market capitalization, led by Zepbound. Novo Nordisk also rose to become Europe’s top publicly traded company by market cap, surpassing the French luxury conglomerate Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), thanks to Wegovy.
With Zealand emerging as a strong competitor as suggested by the clinical trial announcement on this day, it reaffirmed that diet drugs are a key factor influencing the global pharmaceutical market trends.
This clinical trial was a Phase 1 study, and Zealand is preparing for a Phase 2 clinical trial of Petrelintide.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
