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Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) shares were positive Wednesday, after reporting its obesity drug Zepbound led to more weight loss than its main rival, Novo Nordisk’s (NYSE:NVO) Wegovy, in the first head-to-head clinical trial on the weekly injections.
The findings suggest Zepbound may be a superior treatment for weight loss, helping obese or overweight patients lose 20.2% of their body weight, or roughly 50 pounds, on average after 72 weeks in the phase three trial. Meanwhile, Wegovy helped people lose 13.7% of their weight, or about 33 pounds, on average after the same time period.
Eli Lilly said Zepbound provided a 47% higher relative weight reduction compared with Wegovy in the trial. The company added that more than 31% of people taking Zepbound lost at least a quarter of their body weight, compared to just about 16% of those on Wegovy who lost that much weight.
Separate studies on the drugs, along with a recent head-to-head analysis of health records, have similarly implied that Zepbound outperforms Wegovy in terms of weight loss. A late-stage study on Zepbound showed that it helped patients lose more than 22% of their weight on average over 72 weeks, while a separate study on Wegovy showed that it led to 15% weight loss on average over 68 weeks.
LLY shares hiked $12.11, or 1.5%, first thing Wednesday to $825.44.
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