FDA Approval For Diabetes Drug Lifts Novo Shares (NVO, AMLN, LLY)

Reuters reports that the stock price of Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), the Swedish drug maker, rose to unprecedented levels on the back of an FDA approval for the company’s type 2 diabetes remedy Victoza.

The FDA had raised questions on the safety of the medicine. This had delayed its release in the US. Victoza holds great promise for Novo in a market like the US, which has an incidence rate of diabetes which is as high as 10%. "We repeat our expectation that Victoza has potential for being a blockbuster within the first five years of the launch, i.e. sales of more than $1 billion," Novo Chief Science Officer Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen said. The company is expected to match the price of similar products from Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and also Amylin (NASDAQ: AMLN).