Novo Nordisk said on Friday a late-stage trial with a high-dose version of its weight loss drug semaglutide helped overweight patients lower their weight by 20.7%.

Weight loss goals may be at the forefront of many New Year's resolutions, which could push the exuberance for Eli Lilly LLY and Novo Nordisk NVO stock. As the major players in the hyper-scale shift of injectable drugs that treat obesity,

Wegovy, the weight-loss brand of semaglutide, has a recommended maintenance dose of 2.4 mg. Novo ran the Phase III STEP UP trial to evaluate the effect of increasing the maximum dose to 7.2 mg. The trial randomized 1,407 adults with obesity, but not diabetes, to receive either 7.2 mg or 2.4 mg of semaglutide or placebo.