Shares of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) have been climbing steadily over the past 30 days, with the former gaining 19% and the latter rising by 12%. For mega-cap big pharma businesses, that's a truly astounding amount of growth, and it's all likely driven by one single massive new development.

As you may have guessed, the catalyst is directly related to their best-selling medicines for obesity and diabetes. Let's explore what's going on in more detail to see if it might be a relevant factor in an investing thesis for either company. 

Appreciating the nature of the catalyst for these two stocks requires a quick science lesson, so strap in. Novo Nordisk's medicines, called Ozempic and Wegovy, are household names thanks to their impressive effects on diabetes and obesity. Those drugs are comprised of a molecule called semaglutide, and they work by targeting the receptor for glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) on patients' cells. Eli Lilly's diabetes treatment Mounjaro works in the same way, though it also targets a second receptor.

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Source Fool.com