Why Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Viking Therapeutics Stocks All Popped Today
Pfizer bows, but is not entirely out of the GLP-1 race.
Bad news for Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) turned into good news for Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), and Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) Monday morning, each of which is rising on Pfizer's latest product announcement.
Early this morning, Pfizer announced it will discontinue development of its danuglipron (PF-06882961) once-a-day oral GLP-1 weight loss pill. Shares of companies will injectable GLP-1 drugs already on the market -- Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk -- gained 2% and 2.7%, respectively, through 10:30 a.m. ET. Viking Therapeutics, which does not yet have a GLP-1 drug on the market (but like Pfizer, was racing to put one there) surged most of all, gaining 9.9% on the prospect that now Viking, and not Pfizer, may end up being the third major player in this weight loss drug market.
In its press release this morning, Pfizer explained that while danuglipron exhibited the "potential to deliver a competitive efficacy and tolerability profile" to existing GLP-1 drugs, "a single asymptomatic participant in one of the dose-optimization studies experienced potential drug-induced liver injury, which resolved after discontinuation of danuglipron" (emphasis added). This was a strong hint that it was the drug at fault for the negative effect, and it convinced Pfizer to terminate further development.
