It's obvious why Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is eager to produce a medicine like Wegovy, Novo Nordisk's (NYSE: NVO) smash-hit obesity therapy that's essentially a slightly different version of its type 2 diabetes drug called Ozempic. With such a gargantuan market at stake, there's likely more than enough room for multiple major competitors to find a home.

But that doesn't mean the contenders have an equal chance of winning any competitive fight once such a conflict eventually occurs. And even with Pfizer's latest attempt at making a Wegovy competitor, it could struggle significantly relative to Novo Nordisk in this area. Here's why.

Right now, Pfizer only has two programs for obesity in development, both of which are in phase 1 clinical trials. It's lagging far behind Novo Nordisk, and it'll be years before it can get either program to the market, assuming that everything goes right along the way. That will take some time to change, but there's already another plan afoot.

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Source Fool.com