As if billions of dollars in sales of weight loss drugs weren't enough, Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) and its peers developing those medicines have a new opportunity that just might pad their wallets further. There's now reason to believe that the nascent market for Alzheimer's disease therapies could be reachable with many of the same products.

Let's explore how this new possibility is being revealed, and what it might mean for share prices.

Per the results of a phase 2 clinical trial published on July 30, one of Novo Nordisk's molecules, liraglutide, can significantly slow the rate of cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease. Though the treatment wasn't curative, it appeared to reduce the loss of brain volume over the course of a year by as much as 50%. Right now, liraglutide is sold under the trade names Saxenda, which is indicated for weight loss, and Victoza, which is intended to treat type 2 diabetes.

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Source Fool.com