Shares in MedPal AI plc (AIM: MPAL) surged 40% during Friday trading to a three-month high of around 4.35p after the company highlighted the UK approval of the first oral GLP-1 weight loss treatment and its potential to drive demand for the group’s newly launched weight management service.
The digital healthcare company said the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted marketing authorisation to Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide tablet for weight management, marking a significant development in the rapidly expanding obesity treatment market.
MedPal noted that the approval arrived sooner than many market participants had anticipated and coincides with the national rollout of its New Health weight management clinic.
The treatment will be available on a prescription-only basis for eligible adults who are overweight or obese. While the medication is not currently available through the NHS and remains under review by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), private healthcare providers are now positioned to offer access immediately.
The company also pointed to strong early adoption in the United States, where oral semaglutide launched in January. According to Novo Nordisk, more than three million prescriptions were issued within five months of launch, with over 80% going to patients who had not previously used GLP-1 therapies.
Management believes the availability of an oral alternative could significantly expand the addressable market by attracting patients who are unwilling or reluctant to use injectable weight-loss medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.
MedPal said its New Health platform, which combines AI-assisted patient screening, clinician-led prescribing and robotic dispensing technology, is well positioned to capitalise on growing demand for weight management treatments.
Chief Executive Jason Drummond said the approval had arrived faster than expected and represented a major opportunity for the company’s recently launched service.
Investors appeared to welcome the news, with the market viewing oral GLP-1 treatments as a potentially important catalyst for broader adoption of medical weight-loss programmes and increased demand for digital healthcare platforms serving the sector.
