Roche falls while Novo, Lilly gain on weight-loss drug report

Shares of Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) slid 5% Wednesday while shares of rivals Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) gained ground after Reuters reported that positive data released by Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) in July for its obesity pill candidate CT-996 was based on only six study participants.

In July, Roche said a Phase 1 study showed obese patients without diabetes who took CT-996 had placebo-adjusted average weight loss of 6.1% within four weeks. Presentation slides of the study published on Wednesday showed that the data was based on six patients out of 25 enrolled in the trial, according to Reuters.

Reuters said the 25 participants were divided into subgroups, with six participants given a placebo. The second-best performing group, which consisted of seven participants, has a placebo-adjusted average weight loss of 4.6%.

Roche first released the Phase 1 data on July 17.

Roche shares were down 5% at around 1:00 p.m. ET Wednesday, while shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) were up 4% and Lilly (LLY) 2%. Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Lilly (LLY) are both dominant players in the weight-loss medication market through their respective drugs Wegovy and Zepbound.