Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc (ORMP)

[trendmkr]

Oramed is the last oral insulin standing

Novo's rather abrupt departure from the oral insulin scene has left Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ORMP) shareholders caught between confused excitement and mild panic. This is also understandable. On the one hand, Novo's exit gives Oramed easier access to diabetes markets if its own oral insulin candidate ORMD-0801 succeeds. On the other hand, if Novo decided to ax its oral insulin program without even attempting a Phase IIb, doesn't that hint to the entire venture of oral insulin being doomed?

Oramed shares dove over 10% on the news but have been holding in a steady range since then. There are two questions that need to be answered to determine where Oramed goes from here. The first is, why did Novo shutter NN1953? The second is, can Oramed's own ORMD-0801 oral insulin succeed in its own right?

If Novo abandoned NN1953 because it thought the program was a failure, then the implication for Oramed's oral insulin program would be quite negative. If, however, there is an ulterior motive here, then Novo may have just abandoned a multibillion-dollar market to Oramed, assuming ORMD-0801 succeeds and gets approved. But why would Novo do that?