Novo Nordisk beyond weight loss has investors wary, scientists hopeful

Novo Nordisk has had a difficult year: a tumbling stock price resulting in the biggest leadership shakeup in the company’s 100-year history as investors turned their back on the Danish drugmaker and its weight loss business.

It seemed investors had largely given up on Novo’s ability to translate its strides in pioneering GLP-1 drugs to financial gains as the lucrative market attracts new players. Scientists, however, say that the medicine still has potential.

What started with a focus on the drug’s ability to manage weight and blood sugar, and combat related conditions such as heart disease, is now expanding further with growing interest in how it might also impact the brain.

Semaglutide, or as it is better known, Ozempic and Wegovy, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that was originally developed for diabetes patients to manage their blood sugar levels. However, it quickly became prescribed by doctors off-label en masse as its appetite surpressing and weight-loss properties became known. Today, it is approved for anti-obesity purposes and brings in billions annually for its maker, Novo Nordisk.

Now, the medical community is discovering a growing list of added benefits from these drugs.

“Wegovy promotes weight loss and potentially other mechanisms not fully understood,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wrote in a statement in August when it approved the drug for treating liver disease. Semaglutide is also cleared by regulators to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in overweight people with cardiovascular disease, as well as to treat chronic kidney disease in diabetes patients. 

Meanwhile, a rival drug by U.S. competitor Eli Lilly, tirzepatide (known as Mounjaro and Zepbound), which also targets the GLP-1 hormone as well as another gut hormone called GIP, is approved for treating moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity.

But the benefits may not end there. Amid increased competition, additional indications have become a new frontier for drug developers alongside new formats like pills.

GLP-1s and the brain

Observational studies have shown that GLP-1s appear to quiet cravings not just for food, but also for alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs, as they affect the brain’s reward pathway. By seemingly changing dopamine signals in the brain, these drugs could reduce cravings and allow the individual to be more rational when faced with tempting options.

“There is interest in understanding the potential of semaglutide on various brain functions,” Laura Nisenbaum, executive director at Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), told CNBC.

“Understanding that inflammation and energy usage in the brain is going to be so important for our normal cognitive function,” Nisenbaum said. Recognizing that link will…