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 The oral form of the drug, known generically as semaglutide, is
crucial for ensuring the group's long-term growth, as price pressure
has been mounting in a crowded market targeting the world's 450
million diabetics.
Novo Nordisk said the first of 10 phase III trials were successful
in its primary objective by demonstrating "significant and superior"
improvements in long-term blood sugar compared to a placebo.
The trial also showed that the highest of the three tested doses -
3, 7 and 14 mg - demonstrated "significant and superior" weight
loss. While weight loss was observed for the two smaller doses, they
did not reach statistical significance.
The company's shares rose on the news and traded 3.9 percent higher
at 1032 GMT.
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Novo Nordisk said it aims to provide data from the remaining nine
trials this year and expects to submit the drug for regulatory
approval in 2019.
Rivals, especially Eli Lilly, are watching Novo's final-stage oral
semaglutide trials closely, ahead of the drug's potential 2020
launch.
The once-daily pill belongs to a blockbuster class of treatments
known as GLP-1s that stimulate insulin production, the first of
which were derived from the venomous bite of North America's Gila
monster lizard. So far, all have been injections.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and
David Evans)
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