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novo nordisk Shares rose as much as 4% after Britain’s drug price watchdog recommended the use of the best-selling drug Wegoby to prevent heart attacks and strokes, making it the first GLP-1 to be endorsed for this use.
Although Wegovy is primarily a weight loss treatment, it is also approved to reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular events in people living with overweight or obesity.
New recommendations from the UK’s drug price regulator, the National Institute for Healthcare Excellence (NICE), will significantly expand access to Wegovy in the country’s National Health Service (NHS).
NICE said in a statement on Wednesday that around 1.2 million people could use the drug to prevent further heart attacks and strokes as it is provided to treat heart attacks and strokes.
The regulator, which assesses the cost-effectiveness of medicines, recommended Wegovy and semaglutide, the active ingredient in the diabetes drug Ozempic, as an option for adults with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 27 who have had a heart attack, stroke or severe circulation problems in the lower extremities.
Novo’s Copenhagen-listed shares rose 1.7% in morning trading, paring some of their earlier gains. Pan-European Blue-chip Index Stocks 600 It rose 1.8%.
Clinical trials have shown that patients taking 2.4 mg of semaglutide in combination with existing cardiovascular medications are 20% less likely to have a serious cardiovascular event compared to a placebo.
Wegovy secured approval in the UK in 2024 to reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular disease in people who are overweight or obese and have heart disease, but the drug was only available to patients who paid out-of-pocket if used to treat these conditions.
Novo Nordisk has faced multiple setbacks over the past year as it has lost market share to U.S.-based rivals. Eli Lillythe drug produced more significant weight loss at approved doses. The company has also faced significant pricing pressure this year amid political pressure to lower prescription drug costs in the United States, its largest market, as well as generic competition in India and other markets.
So far in 2026, Novo has launched Wegoby in pill form as the first oral GLP-1 for weight loss, and Wegoby in a higher dose comparable to Lilly rival Zepbound as it looks to regain market share.
According to the NHS, heart and circulatory disease is one of the leading causes of premature death and poor health in the UK, and it is estimated that around one in four adults in the UK are obese.
Wegovy will be incorporated into the treatment of cardiovascular disease, alongside NICE’s existing guidance recommending semaglutide for weight management in adults who are obese or overweight.
“Taken together, these decisions reflect a growing body of evidence that this class of medicines offers benefits beyond weight loss,” NICE said.
Novo Nordisk UK General Manager Sebnem Avsar Tuna said: “Today’s NICE recommendation for Wegovy is an important step forward for people with pre-existing cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity.”
“This means that clinicians in the UK now have access to a further treatment that NICE has recognized as cost-effective: the first and only GLP1 receptor agonist proven to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death in this high-risk population.”
