Novo Nordisk Stock Jumps. What the Latest Ozempic Data Show.

Novo’s medicine Semaglutide is sold under the brand names Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss. (SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images)

Novo Nordisk published another set of data on its popular diabetes and weight-loss treatment. This time, investors rewarded the stock.

In a study of people with Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the Semaglutide medication, sold under the brand name Ozempic for diabetes, was shown to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death by 23% compared with Eli Lilly’s older dulaglutide medication, which is sold under the brand name Trulicity.

Results, released Thursday, were based on a real-world study of nearly 60,000 U.S. patients on Medicare, aged 66 or above.

“These data…fill an important gap and reinforce the well-established clinical evidence of semaglutide,” said Filip Krag Knop, incoming chief medical officer at Novo Nordisk.

“This is great news for older patients as well as healthcare professionals,” Krag Knop said, adding that not all GLP-1-based treatments are the same. GLP-1s, or Glucagon-Like Peptide-1, are a class of drugs that mimic a natural gut hormone, helping to regulate blood-sugar levels and appetite.

A Lilly spokesperson said Thursday that while real-world evidence can complement trials where efficacy is tested in controlled environments by randomly assigning participants into groups, they come with limitations—such as non-adherence and lack of randomization.

Novo Nordisk’s American depositary receipts closed up 6.3% at $61.85 Thursday. Eli Lilly shares finished the session up 0.4% to $762.93.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Thursday on renewed optimism that the Fed would cut interest rates by another 50 basis points (or half a percentage point) by the end of the year, following a 25 basis points cut on Wednesday.

Pharma investors are trying to keep up with the rapid news flow out of the 2025 European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting taking place on Sept. 15-19 in Vienna.

Lilly released full data on its next-generation weight-loss pill orforglipron and a study on tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro, for children and adolescents with diabetes.

Orforglipron has shown patients to lose 12.4% of their weight on average over 72 weeks, compared with patients on the placebo, who lost 0.9%.

Novo also delivered an update on its Wegovy pill late Wednesday, demonstrating 16.6% weight loss in obese patients, compared with 2.7% for placebo over 64 weeks. The pill is awaiting clearance by the Food and Drug Administration, and Novo is producing the drug in advance of the anticipated approval.

Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com