Blockbuster weight loss drugs have been arguably the biggest health story of the last several years — and there are no signs their popularity will slow down anytime soon, especially with the prospect of a daily pill form on the horizon.

People taking the experimental drug amycretin were found to lose almost twice as much weight over a 12-week period as the average weight loss seen with semaglutide.

Data from an early stage clinical trial suggests Novo Nordisk’s new weight loss pill amycretin could produce greater and more rapid weight loss than its popular obesity injection Wegovy.

Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, said its experimental weight-loss pill lowered participants' body weight by up to 13% after three months of its Phase 1 clinical trial.

A recent study estimated that Wegovy’s label expansion beyond obesity could push Medicare spending to $145 billion annually, but analysts remain dubious of the estimate.

The highly anticipated new obesity pill shows the potential for greater and faster weight loss than Wegovy. There is a new chapter in Big Pharma’s billion-dollar war on obesity, as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly battle it out over the latest blockbuster drugs.

Novo Nordisk said on Wednesday its highly anticipated experimental weight-loss pill amycretin was safe and tolerable for patients in an early-stage trial, with mild-to-moderate side effects. The maker

Shares of Novo Nordisk NVO gained 4.2% on Sept. 11 after the company presented encouraging detailed efficacy data from the early-stage study of its new, investigational oral obesity pill, amycretin, at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Madrid.

Novo Nordisk stock rose moderately Wednesday after the pharma giant said its new weight-loss drug, amycretin, outperformed Wegovy.