Shares in Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Company rose after early data suggested that weight-loss pills could significantly expand the global obesity treatment market, rather than simply replace injectable drugs.

Novo Nordisk shares rose after telehealth company Hims & Hers abandoned plans to launch a low-cost weight-loss pill based on semaglutide, following legal and regulatory pressure.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has launched the first pill version of its blockbuster GLP-1 weight-loss drug, Wegovy, in the United States, intensifying a price war in the sector.

Novo Nordisk’s stock surged after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drugmaker’s weight-loss pill, giving the Danish company a boost in the competitive race to bring an effective oral obesity treatment to market and helping it regain momentum against rival Eli Lilly.

The French scientist who developed the abortion pill has passed away at the age of 98.