Novo Nordisk's stock price continues to rise, investors are not worried about the Harvard "eye disease report"

Novo Nordisk's stock price seems unaffected by Harvard's "eye disease" report.

Previously, on Wednesday local time, a study conducted by Harvard-affiliated hospitals found that the risk of developing a rare eye disease called non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) may increase when patients take Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. This eye disease can lead to vision loss in one eye.

Affected by this news, Novo Nordisk's stock price plummeted by 4.8% during Wednesday's trading session. However, the stock price seemed to withstand the impact of the report, and on Friday, Novo Nordisk maintained its upward trend, with an intraday increase of over 2.2%.

The study analyzed data from 16,827 patients between December 2017 and November last year. Other experts from Harvard University have stated that the current research results are not sufficient to prove that these drugs are the direct cause of the eye disease, and further large-scale verification is needed in more hospitals.

In addition, Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Papadakis believes that this research result will not have a significant impact on the market. Although the research paper implies a "certain correlation" between rare eye events and the drugs, the quality of evidence provided is "very low" and the margin of error is "very wide." He believes that the worst-case scenario may only involve further updates to the drug labels as a precaution, which "will hardly have a significant impact on the market."

Papadakis further emphasized that Deutsche Bank generally considers the semaglutide drug class as "one of the lowest-risk therapeutic categories in the pharmaceutical industry from a safety perspective."

Novo Nordisk quickly responded as well, with a company spokesperson stating that according to approved labels, optic nerve disease NAION is not an "adverse drug reaction" to semaglutide formulations on the market, and pointing out "critical methodological limitations" in the study, such as the limited number of patients involved in the trial. The spokesperson emphasized that patient safety is paramount to us, and we take all reports of adverse events related to the use of our drugs very seriously.

Despite the controversy, Novo Nordisk has become the highest-valued company in Europe thanks to its popular weight-loss drugs, with its market value last year even surpassing Denmark's GDP. Wegovy not only helps with weight loss and blood sugar control but has also been proven to have other health benefits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its indication for reducing the risk of heart disease in March this year.

However, these drugs are not without controversy. Some patients have reported gastroparesis and suicidal thoughts during treatment, as well as a potential increased risk of intestinal obstruction and pancreatitis. The side effects of pancreatitis and specific intestinal obstructions have already been clearly listed on the drug labels. In addition, potential side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy also include changes in vision