10:45 AM EST, 03/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with the latest stock price movement and market valuation details in the headline, first and last paragraphs.)

Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) shares were up more than 8% and its market valuation rose to more than $603 billion in recent Thursday trading after the Danish drugmaker said its experimental obesity drug showed greater weight loss in early data.

The company said Thursday in an investor meeting that early data from a phase 1 trial evaluating the pill version of its experimental obesity drug amycretin showed a weight loss of about 13% after 12 weeks.

This is higher than the trial results for Wegovy, the company's popular obesity drug, which had shown about 6% weight loss after 12 weeks, according to a Reuters report.

Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) said it expects the phase 1 trial for the injectable version of amycretin to finish in 2025.

The company's market cap surpassed that of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) in Thursday intraday trading.

Price: 135.08, Change: +10.33, Percent Change: +8.28