Amgen's Catching Up to Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Should You Buy It?

With some promising clinical trial results in hand and more that could be on the way relatively soon, 's (NASDAQ: AMGN) latest attempt to develop a therapy for obesity is looking like it could be a contender for the crown that's currently jointly held by the likes of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). Though it won't be competing with those two heavyweights directly until it finishes the clinical trials process, which could take years, smart investors know that getting in early, before a play is obvious, is where many of the greatest returns often lie.

But is this stock ready to purchase today, or does the opportunity need a bit more time to cook? Let's start to answer this question by evaluating what all the fuss is about.

Amgen's entrant in the weight-loss drug gold rush is called MariTide, and it's currently in phase 2 clinical trials. Thanks to how favorable the preliminary phase 2 data is, management is already planning on a phase 3 trial that it claims will be extensive in scope, investigating the candidate's utility in treating obesity-adjacent cardiometabolic conditions like type 2 diabetes. That means the drug could one day compete for the market shares of Eli Lilly's marketed medicines Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as for the shares held by Novo Nordisk's medicines Ozempic and Wegovy, not to mention potentially one-upping promising programs in development by biotechs like Viking Therapeutics.

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Source Fool.com