Wegobi-related stocks such as Yuhan Corporation and Blue MTech are all strong
Biopharmaceutical ranks first in contribution to KOSPI and KOSDAQ industry indices
Pay attention to growing demand in the early stages of the obesity market… Expected continuation of benefits
Novo Nordisk, held at a hotel in Seoul on the morning of the 15th. [사진 출처 = 연합뉴스]”/> news/cms/202410/16/news-p.v1.20241016.13486720bfa747c090957aa35cb65912_R.png" data-width="500" data-height="333" /> Enlarge photo A sign related to Wegobi is placed at the Korean launch event for Wegobi, an obesity treatment drug by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, held at a hotel in Seoul on the morning of the 15th. [사진 출처 = 연합뉴스]
With the launch of the obesity treatment drug ‘Wegobi’ in Korea, which attracted worldwide attention with a series of reviews from overseas celebrities, expectations are rising among investors that pharmaceutical and biotechnology and healthcare-related stocks will benefit.
Wegobi is an obesity treatment drug from Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk that comes in the form of a pre-filled injection (prefilled pen). As the once-a-week injection was confirmed to be effective in reducing body weight by an average of 14.8% over 68 weeks of administration, hospitals and clinics began competing to secure the initial supply from the first day of launch. Related stocks are already shaking due to signs of a shortage of Wigobi.
According to the securities market on the 16th, on the 15th, when WeGobee was launched in Korea, WeGobee-related stocks such as BlueMTech (25.0%), Chaperone (7.6%), and Inventage Lab (3.80%) showed strong performance.
On the same day, Yuhan Corporation closed at 163,700 won, up 3.74%, and rose to 166,900 won (4.1%) during the day, breaking a 52-week high. Yuhan Corporation closed down 2.17% on the 14th due to the overall weakness of bio stocks, but turned upward in one day as investment sentiment improved with the arrival of Wigobi in Korea. Yuhan Corporation is developing a long-acting injectable anti-obesity drug and has been mentioned as a representative stock related to obesity.
The previous day, pharmaceutical and bio companies ranked first in industry index contribution in both KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. On the same day, pharmaceuticals accounted for 118 billion won of foreigners’ net purchase of KOSPI of 280 billion won.
With the influx of foreigners and institutions into the pharmaceutical industry, large biopharmaceutical stocks Samsung BioLogics and Celltrion rose 4.4% and 2.4%, respectively, the previous day.
![Eli Lilly's obesity treatment. [사진 출처 = 연합뉴스]](https://i0.wp.com/pimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202410/16/news-p.v1.20241016.165d2bf92ea74e1baedde69036ef1790_P1.png?w=900&ssl=1)
news/cms/202410/16/news-p.v1.20241016.165d2bf92ea74e1baedde69036ef1790_R.png" data-width="500" data-height="333" /> Enlarge photo Eli Lilly’s obesity treatment. [사진 출처 = 연합뉴스]
There is a rosy outlook in the stock market that, starting with the arrival of WeGobee in Korea, all stocks related to pharmaceutical bio and healthcare, including obesity treatment drugs, will continue to benefit.
GL Research predicted, “Once WeGobee was launched in Korea, competition to secure supplies began on the first day of order reception, and with the outlook for sectors benefiting from interest rate cuts, supply and demand for major stocks are concentrated, and the strength of bio will continue.”
Yeo No-rae, a researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities, said, “Roche, the No. 1 pharmaceutical company in the Swiss Stock Exchange by market capitalization, confirmed at Pharma Day 2024, a major event in the pharmaceutical industry last month, that the obesity treatment market will grow to $100 billion by 2030, and the related market is in its infancy and competition has not even begun. “We should pay attention to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in 2025, when the clinical results of various obesity treatments will be revealed,” he said.
