Patients lost more significantly weight on Eli Lilly drug Mounjaro than Novo Nordisk treatment Ozempic, according to a new study, released late Monday on the JAMA Internal Medicine website. LLY stock edged up early Tuesday while Novo Nordisk fell modestly.
Analyzing 18,386 selected obese or overweight patients who took the drugs found that Mounjaro users lost 5.9% of their body weight after three months vs. 3.6% for Ozempic. After six months, Mounjaro users lost 10.1% of their weight vs. 5.8% for Ozempic users. At 12 months, Mounjaro users reduced their weight by 15.3% vs. 8.3% for those taking Ozempic.
Mounjaro's active ingredient is tirzepatide while Ozempic's is semaglutide. Lilly sells tirzepatide as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zebound for weight loss.
Novo Nordisk labels semaglutide as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss.
Early Monday, Eli Lilly agreed to buy Morphic for $3.2 billion, which has a lead asset to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk Stock
Eli Lilly stock advanced 0.8% early Tuesday, even with TD Cowen downgrading LLY to a hold. Novo Nordisk fell 1.6%.
Eli Lilly rose 0.4% to 918 in Monday's session, hitting a record high. Novo Nordisk stock climbed 0.5% to 143.23, within a buy zone.
Lilly stock and Novo Nordisk are on IBD Leaderboard. NVO stock is on the IBD 50 list.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
