Novo Nordisk stock skidded Monday on reports a Food and Drug Administration inspection turned up "objectionable conditions" at a facility charged with making diabetes and weight-loss drugs.
According to Reuters — which cited a Market Wire News report — the FDA inspectors filed a Form 483 following their inspection of Novo Nordisk's Clayton, N.C., manufacturing plant. That form lists any conditions the inspector found that could violate the Food and Drug Cosmetic Act and related acts.
Novo lists the Clayton plant as one of three between Clayton and Durham responsible for making diabetes and weight-loss drugs, like semaglutide. Semaglutide sells as injections known as Ozempic and Wegovy, and as an oral medicine called Rybelsus. Ozempic and Rybelsus treat diabetes, while Wegovy is an increasingly popular weight-loss drug.
On today's stock market, Novo Nordisk stock fell 2% to 186.61.
Novo Nordisk Stock: Wegovy Demand Skyrockets
Investor's Business Daily couldn't authenticate the report. Neither could Reuters.
The inspection isn't listed on the FDA's inspection database. But the agency notes "not all inspections are included in the database." For example, inspections waiting for a final enforcement action are not listed.
"The FDA generally does not discuss possible or completed inspections except with the company involved," FDA spokesman Jeremy Kahn said in an email to IBD. He instructed IBD to file a request under the Freedom of Information Act for more information.
Novo Nordisk spokeswoman Allison Schneider said the company doesn't publicly share details of its interactions with the FDA.
However, the site is running and producing for the market," she said in an emailed statement to IBD.
Enthusiasm for diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy has driven Novo Nordisk stock to its highest point in years. In the U.S. alone, Wegovy sales skyrocketed 344% during the second quarter, while Ozempic sales jumped 66% globally.
But the company is restricting its Wegovy supply in the U.S. in an attempt to ensure patients who've already started treatment don't have to come off of it. The FDA still lists several Wegovy dosages and one Ozempic dosage as being in short supply. The former shortage is due to "demand increase for the drug."
Today, Novo Nordisk stock has a strong IBD Digital Relative Strength Rating of 96 out of a best-possible 99. This means shares rank in the top 4% of all stocks when it comes to 12-month performance. Despite that, shares gapped down closer to their 50-day line just after the open, according to MarketSmith.com.
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