Why Novo Nordisk Stock Fell While Eli Lilly and Viking Therapeutics Bumped Higher Today

In the pharmaceutical world, it's never good for a company to stumble in a hot therapeutic area, especially if it has some determined rivals competing in the same segment.That was the dynamic behind Wegovy and Ozempic developer Novo Nordisk's (NYSE: NVO) Friday stumble on the stock exchange --following its latest news from the lab -- and the gains enjoyed that day by up-and-coming Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) and pharmaceutical titan Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). Novo Nordisk's stock price declined by nearly 6% on the day, while the two gainers rose 3.4% and 0.7%, respectively.The news item from Novo Nordisk that was so impactful was the readout from a clinical trial of monlunabant, an investigational treatment it's testing for obesity. In a phase 2a clinical trial involving 243 participants, the drug showed efficacy in producing weight loss with daily 10 milligram doses-- patients taking it shed an average of 7.1 kilograms (15.7 pounds), compared to only 0.7 kilograms (1.5 pounds) with a placebo. Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool