Structure Therapeutics stock rocketed to a six-month high Monday after the biotech company delivered "compelling" results for its weight-loss drug. The company tested its drug over 12 weeks in patients with obesity but not type 2 diabetes. Patients who took the oral medicine lost 6.9% of their body weight compared to a placebo.
Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger says the results compare favorably to Eli Lilly's oral weight-loss drug, orforglipron. In midstage testing, patients who took the Lilly medicine lost 6.5% of their weight.
Though almost two-thirds of Structure's patients experienced vomiting, tolerability improved over time. An upcoming study will test slowly increasing the dosage over the course of a month — rather than over a week — which should improve the tolerability, Risinger said. Importantly, none of the patients experienced liver toxicity.
In midday action, Structure Therapeutics stock skyrocketed 58% to 54.04. That put shares at their highest point since December, helping the biotech stock retake its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, MarketSurge shows.
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