The race for weight loss drugs heats up with data on obesity pills

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the latest health news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions.

Happy Friday! Buried in this week's election news was new data from drugmakers vying to get into the booming weight-loss drug market.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and biotech companies Viking Therapeutics were among the companies presenting encouraging data on their obesity pills and other treatments at the ObesityWeek conference in San Antonio, Texas, in recent days.

Wall Street expects the new wave of obesity growth to be driven by pills that could offer more convenience and potentially fewer side effects, which could lead patients to take the drugs for longer. Analysts expect the market for weight loss drugs to be worth more than $100 billion by the end of the decade as more treatments come to market and help meet demand created by existing ones Injections occur Novo Nordisk And Eli Lilly still struggling to keep up.

Here's what some of the data on the pills looked like.

People who took the highest dose of the daily Viking pill lost an average of 6.8% of their body weight after 28 days compared to those who received a placebo, according to results of an early study in 92 people.

That beat investors' expectations of a 5% to 6% weight loss compared with a placebo, William Blair analyst Andy Hsieh said in a note Monday. That bar was set by an experimental pill from Novo Nordisk that showed a 5% weight loss in four weeks, he noted.

Hsieh also said Viking's pill had an “extremely benign tolerability profile,” referring to how well patients tolerated the drug. Six of nine participants who took the highest dose of the drug experienced mild nausea, while only one experienced vomiting.

This could potentially be an advantage over existing anti-obesity injections, which can cause gastrointestinal side effects so unpleasant that they prompt some patients to stop treatment.

Still, some analysts questioned whether Viking could capture a large share of the competitive weight-loss drug market, particularly raising concerns about its ability to produce enough drugs as a small company.

“We're not saying manufacturing is impossible for Viking, but we think it will be costly because the capital needs and expertise go beyond what Lilly and Novo currently have,” said James Shin, an analyst at the Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Monday.

But Hsieh said he believes Viking offers “a unique set of attractive properties from the perspective of big pharma.” There has already been speculation about the possibility that Viking could be acquired by a major pharmaceutical company.

In addition to the pill, Viking is also developing a weight loss injection and other treatments.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca said its experimental obesity pill was well tolerated in patients with type 2 diabetes in an early study, presenting data from multiple trials on three new treatments during the conference.

After AstraZeneca announced last year that it would license Chinese drugmaker Eccogene's once-daily pill, it said it believed the pill could cause fewer side effects than injectable treatments from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

Patients with diabetes lost 5.8% of their body weight within four weeks of treatment with the AstraZeneca pill.

Some analysts said it was difficult to compare the data with other weight-loss drugs because AstraZeneca's trial was small and tested on diabetics rather than those with obesity. Still, AstraZeneca believes its pill is different from other therapies in development and on the market, especially given how well it is tolerated by patients.

Feel free to send tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at [email protected].

This is how Americans voted on abortion access

Americans in 10 states voted this week on whether to enshrine or expand access to abortion, more than two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court.

Abortion access was a hot topic during this year's presidential campaign, particularly among female voters. President-elect Donald Trump recently said he believes the issue should be left to the states, but has previously expressed support for various proposals for a nationwide ban.

Ballots are still being counted across the country, but here's how Americans voted on abortion, according to NBC News forecasts:

Arizona: Passed

Arizona voters passed Proposition 139, which establishes a right to abortion in the state before the fetus becomes viable at about 24 weeks.

According to NBC News, the measure passed with 61.2% of the vote, while 38.8% of Arizonans voted against it. So far, about 74% of the expected votes have been counted.

Colorado: Passed

Colorado voters passed Amendment 79, which enshrines the right to abortion in the state constitution. It also lifted a ban that prevented public funds from being used to finance abortions, meaning more Coloradans can get insurance coverage for the procedure.

According to NBC News, Amendment 79 passed with 61.9% of the vote. About 86% of the expected votes have been received.

Florida: Failed

Florida voters rejected Amendment 4, which would have provided a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability or if the procedure was necessary to protect the patient's health. Abortions are currently banned in the state after the sixth week of pregnancy.

According to NBC News, more than 57% of Floridians voted for the change. It had to exceed 60% to pass. About 96% of the expected votes were counted.

Maryland: Passed

Maryland voters enshrined abortion access in the state's constitution by passing a right to reproductive freedom, which includes “the ability to make and implement decisions to prevent, continue, or terminate one's pregnancy.”

According to NBC News, the measure passed with 74.7% of the vote. About 83% of the expected votes have been received.

Missouri: Passed

Missouri voters passed Amendment 3, enshrining a right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution. The amendment gives residents “the right to make and carry out decisions on all matters related to reproductive health care,” including abortion.

According to NBC News, Amendment 3 passed with 51.7% of the vote, while 48.3% of people in the state voted against it. Around 99% of the expected votes were received.

Montana: Passed

Montana voters enshrined abortion access in their state's constitution, establishing the right to “make and implement decisions about one's pregnancy.”

According to NBC News, the measure passed with 57.6% of the vote, while 42.4% of voters voted against it. About 96% of the expected votes were counted.

Nebraska: Mixed

Nebraska voters did not pass an amendment that would have expanded access to abortions until the fetus is viable at about 24 weeks, but they did pass a measure that codified existing abortion restrictions in the state constitution. Nebraska bans abortions after 12 weeks unless there is a medical emergency or the pregnancy is the result of sexual assault or incest.

According to NBC News, nearly 49% of Nebraska voters voted in favor of expanding access to abortion, while 51.4% voted against it. The amendment banning abortions after the first trimester passed with 55.3% of the vote. About 94% of the expected votes have been received.

Nevada: Passed

Nevada voters passed an amendment banning abortions after the first trimester unless medically necessary. The amendment also provides exceptions if the pregnancy is the result of incest or sexual assault.

According to NBC News, the amendment passed with 64% of the vote. So far, around 92% of the expected votes have been counted.

New York: Passed

New York voters approved Proposition 1, which protects access to abortion in the state constitution. The proposal states that people should not be denied rights based on their gender, including “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcome, and reproductive health care and autonomy.”

According to NBC News, nearly 62% of New York voters voted in favor of the proposal, while 38.1% voted against it. About 88% of the expected votes have been received.

South Dakota: Failed

South Dakota voters did not approve Amendment G, which would have enshrined a right to abortion in the state constitution. All abortions are banned in the state unless they are medically necessary to save the patient's life.

According to NBC News, more than 41% of voters in the state voted in favor of the change, while 58.6% of people voted against it. Around 99% of the expected votes were counted.

Feel free to send tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at [email protected].