Wegovy: Weight-loss drug firm becomes Europe's most valuable

The shaper of weight-loss cause Wegovy has go Europe's astir invaluable firm, dethroning the French luxury conglomerate LVMH.

Shares roseate aft the Danish pharmaceutical giant, Novo Nordisk, launched the fashionable cause successful the UK.

At the adjacent of trading connected Monday, the steadfast had a banal marketplace valuation of $428bn (£339bn).

Wegovy is an obesity attraction that is taken erstwhile a week which tricks radical into reasoning that they are already full, truthful they extremity up eating little and losing weight.

Wegovy and Ozempic - a diabetes attraction with akin effects - person been described arsenic "miracle" drugs.

But experts pass the jabs are not a speedy hole nor a substitute for a steadfast fare and exercise.

In trials, users often enactment value backmost connected aft stopping treatment.

There has been a planetary shortage of the jabs truthful lone constricted banal arrived for the NHS successful the UK.

The institution has said it volition proceed to restrict planetary supplies arsenic it works to ramp up manufacturing.

Sophie Lund-Yates, pb equity expert astatine Hargreaves Lansdown, told the BBC's Wake Up to Money programme the steadfast had been "genuinely surprised" by the uptake and said it had been "a unfortunate of its ain success".

"It's not communal that you spot a pharmaceutical institution truthful entrenched successful fashionable civilization but determination are radical saying that we request to instrumentality a measurement backmost and guarantee it is being utilized appropriately and responsibly. Of course, with a batch of fanfare for a drug, you are risking a batch of blowback successful the future," she said.

In the UK, NHS guidelines accidental patients tin lone entree Wegovy, which contains the cause semaglutide, if they are importantly overweight and person weight-related wellness problems.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), astir 1 successful 3 adults are obese successful the UK, which is the highest level successful Europe.

While the findings inactive person to beryllium afloat reviewed, experts agreed the results were perchance significant.