The "Two Titans" of weight-loss drugs are no more, Novo Nordisk is back to square one.

About two years ago, GLP-1 peptide drugs like these began to enter the market. The first player was semaglutide produced by Novo Nordisk (NVO), initially used to control blood sugar in diabetic patients. It was later gradually used as a weight-loss drug for obese patients and can even treat fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, and more.

However, many other players soon swarmed into the market. Among them, tirzepatide, developed by Eli Lilly (LLY), has shown better efficacy compared to semaglutide. Figure 1 below shows the differences between these two major drug classes, mainly in their uses and manufacturers.

Blood Sugar Control Version: Ozempic (semaglutide - Novo Nordisk), Mounjaro (tirzepatide - Eli Lilly)

Weight Loss Version: Wegovy (semaglutide - Novo Nordisk), Zepbound (tirzepatide - Eli Lilly)

As head-to-head clinical PK trials progressed, tirzepatide's efficacy completely overwhelmed semaglutide. The stock prices of these two companies have also undergone dramatic changes: one skyrocketing (Eli Lilly), the other plummeting in an A-shape (Novo Nordisk). Novo Nordisk's stock price has been slashed to the ankles, falling back to its pre-drug-launch level.

This also reflects the drawback of over-reliance on a single drug. Moreover, during this process, active stock-picking funds can actually leverage their advantages to try and avoid choosing the inferior side in the PK process. Similar examples, which can be extrapolated, also occur around us, such as with familiar internet companies. Therefore, this year is still highly likely to be a year where active stock-picking funds outperform passive indices.

Therefore, you can continue to pay attention to the "Watchmaker Active Alpha" advisory portfolio, which focuses on selecting excellent active stock-picking funds.

(Not for investment purposes)

$Eli Lilly(LLY.US) $Novo Nordisk AS(NVO.US)  $Yinhua CSI Innovative Drugs Industry ETF(159992.SZ) $Weight loss pills(CP00078.US)