Novo Nordisk said Wednesday that late-stage trial results for its once-daily obesity pill showed "significant" weight reduction and tolerability in line with its blockbuster Wegovy injection, as drugmakers race to get an oral treatment to market.

Results from the phase 3 Oasis 4 trial showed the oral semaglutide pill led to average weight reduction of 16.6% after 64 weeks in patients with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity, the Danish pharmaceutical firm said.

Shares jumped 5.4% by 10:23 a.m. London time (5:23 a.m. ET).

Dubbed the "Wegovy pill," Novo Nordisk's Chief Science Officer Martin Holst Lange told CNBC that the oral treatment offered patients an important alternative to its existing once-weekly injection.

"Our job was to show that, with th

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