Roche said an experimental weight loss pill demonstrated meaningful weight reduction in an early stage study among obesity patients.

Patients who took the oral medication, CT-996, once a day for four weeks lost on average more than 7% of their starting weight, compared with a little over 1% weight loss in patients who received a placebo, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement Wednesday.

Otherwise, The Netherlands should not cover the cost of Novo Nordisk A/S ’ s Wegovy as it ’ s too expensive and there are "major uncertainties" about the obesity drug ’ s long-term benefits, the country ’ s health care institute warned.

Reimbursement of Wegovy under basic national insurance could amount to 1.3 billion ( $1.4 billion ) per year, which poses a "socially unjustifiable" risk to the health-care budget, the government agency said in advice to Healthcare Minister Fleur Agema on Tuesday.

Although the drug can help people lose weight, there are no studies on responsible reduction of use once someone ’ s weight has decreased sufficiently or whether long-term use is permanently effective, the agency added.

Roche ’ s rivals Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly dropped in premarket trading Wednesday. Novo Nordisk fell 3%; Eli Lilly fell 2.4%.