New York, June 5, 2026, 07:18 (EDT)
- Veru shares kept most of their premarket surge Thursday after Novo Nordisk struck a clinical-supply agreement.
- Novo is set to supply Wegovy for free in Veru’s Phase 2b PLATEAU obesity trial.
- Analysts say the deal is a validation signal, though risks with the trial, financing, and possible termination are still on the table.
Veru Inc. shares stayed active premarket Friday as the biotech said it has a supply deal with Novo Nordisk tied to a weight-loss study using Wegovy. Benzinga data had the stock at $3.70 before the open at 7:01 a.m. ET. The move followed Thursday’s rally, when it closed at $4.23, up 88% for the day.
Veru is now trying to bring enobosarm, its oral selective androgen receptor modulator, into the packed obesity drug market. Investors are looking for new drugs that can work with GLP-1 medicines, not replace them. GLP-1 receptor agonists copy a gut hormone linked to appetite and blood sugar.
Nasdaq trading hadn’t started yet at dateline. The exchange’s official hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern, with pre-market trading before the bell.
Veru said in an SEC filing it signed a clinical supply deal with Novo Nordisk on June 2 for the Phase 2b PLATEAU trial. The study is testing enobosarm plus Novo’s Wegovy in older adults with obesity who already get Wegovy for weight loss. Novo will provide Wegovy at no cost. Veru will sponsor and run the trial.
The detail that caught eyes wasn’t only the free supply. Veru hangs on to all global rights for enobosarm, but Novo has a right of first negotiation if Veru ever wants to develop, license, or market enobosarm together with any Novo GLP-1 drug. That means Novo gets the first shot at talks before Veru takes such a combo to another partner.
Oppenheimer analyst Leland Gershell said the deal gives “external validation” to Veru’s combination and oral maintenance approach. Oppenheimer is sticking with its Outperform rating and $24 price target for the stock, Investing.com reported. Investing.com Canada
Canaccord stuck with its Buy rating and $25 target, calling the Novo deal a “significant event.” The firm said enobosarm “grabbed the attention of one of the two players in obesity,” and called Veru’s data “compelling.” TipRanks
PLATEAU isn’t expected to yield quick results. Veru said in May it’s enrolling around 200 patients 65 and older with obesity, each with a BMI over 35. CEO Mitchell Steiner said the company was “on track for presenting” interim results in the first quarter of 2027, with final top-line data due in the fourth quarter. Veru Inc.
The stock action shows just how big the obesity trade is. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly control most of the GLP-1 market, but competition and pricing pressure have made things tighter. Last month, Reuters said Novo’s weight-loss pill demand was strong, though investors wanted proof that more prescriptions could make up for a price war as the rivalry with Lilly heats up.
Veru posted a net loss of $2.7 million, or 12 cents a share, for its fiscal second quarter. The company had $27.6 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at March 31. Veru is still in the clinical-stage and isn’t focused on revenue.
Risks for Veru are clear. The PLATEAU study might miss its endpoints, or regulators could demand more data. Trial enrollment could fall off, and financing may become necessary. Novo also has the option to end the supply deal with 60 days’ notice, according to the SEC filing. That could take some air out of Thursday’s move.
