New York, January 6, 2026, 07:27 EST — Premarket
- Novo Nordisk’s U.S.-listed shares rose about 4% in premarket trading.
- The move follows the U.S. launch of an oral version of Wegovy priced from $149 a month for some cash-paying patients.
- Investors are watching early demand signals and Novo’s February 4 results for margin and guidance clues.
Novo Nordisk’s U.S.-listed shares rose about 4% in premarket trading on Tuesday, extending gains after the Danish drugmaker began selling its once-daily Wegovy weight-loss pill in the United States. The stock was up at $57.29, compared with a prior close of $55.11.
The launch lands as investors debate how fast the obesity-drug boom can grow without forcing deeper price cuts. It also puts fresh focus on political pressure in Washington to bring down prices for widely used weight-loss medicines.
Novo’s push into pills matters because it aims at patients who pay cash out of pocket — a group that has struggled to get coverage for obesity drugs — while directly challenging Eli Lilly in a market where prescription trends can shift quickly. GLP-1 drugs, a class that mimics a gut hormone to curb appetite and regulate blood sugar, have become one of the industry’s biggest growth engines.
Novo started selling the Wegovy pill at $149 a month for 1.5 mg and 4 mg doses for self-paying patients, with 9 mg and 25 mg doses priced at $299, while the 4 mg dose is set to rise to $199 from April 15, its website shows. The company said the drug will be available through pharmacies including CVS and Costco and via telehealth providers such as Ro, LifeMD, WeightWatchers, GoodRx and NovoCare Pharmacy, and it expects remaining doses to be available by the end of the week; Lilly has said it expects a decision in March for its own weight-loss pill.
In a company statement, Ed Cinca, a senior vice president at Novo Nordisk, said the once-daily pill “demonstrated about 17% weight loss” in a trial measure where patients stayed on treatment. Novo said a 64-week Phase 3 study showed average weight loss of about 14% under a broader measure, versus roughly 2% on placebo. PR Newswire
The rollout comes as Novo reshapes parts of its U.S. operation. The company’s head of U.S. public affairs, Jennifer Duck, has left, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters, as CEO Mike Doustdar pushes a restructuring that includes cutting 9,000 jobs and refocusing after a year marked by profit warnings and a steep share decline.
But the pricing strategy carries risk. A faster shift toward lower cash prices could weigh on margins if volume does not scale quickly, and demand for a daily pill will be tested against entrenched weekly injections and a crowded pipeline of rival obesity therapies.
