Novo Nordisk will explore how GLP-1 drugs could help patients struggling with addiction, its head of development Martin Holst Lange told an online press conference on Thursday.

GLP-1 drugs on the market include Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic, its weight-loss treatment Wegovy and Eli Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound.

But the class of drugs, which work by helping control blood sugar levels and triggering a feeling of fullness, are also being studied to see whether they can improve health in other ways.

"We will further look into this and explore how we can help patients with addiction, potentially with GLP-1," Lange said.

"It has to be addressed in a scientific, and obviously also from a regulatory perspective, very rigourous way so we can really see the potential impact of GLP-1 in that space," he added