Novo Nordisk unveils new liraglutide-based weight loss drug

Novo Nordisk has unveiled a new weight-loss treatment that utilises the active ingredient liraglutide to deliver advantages over currently-available treatments.

The new agent is administered via injection and is designed to help obese patients to reduce their body weight, lower blood pressure and raise beneficial HDL cholesterol levels, as well as offering improved diabetes control.

It has already been trialled among 550 patients in an early-stage study, in which it was shown to deliver superior sustained weight loss performance compared to placebo.

Viggo Birch, Novo Nordisk's managing director, said: "We have had phenomenal results from the first clinical trials in obesity. The effects on confidence and health were life-changing."

The drug is now set to be trialled among 5,000 patients and will be launched by Novo Nordisk within three years if favourable results are achieved.

Last month, the firm announced a partnership with Emisphere Technologies to create new oral formulations of various insulin treatments for diabetes.