Novo Nordisk A/S (NOVO-B.KO) expects its closely-watched diabetes treatment Victoza to reach European customers in the nearest future, Chief Scientific Officer Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen said in an interview.

"We are only speaking very few weeks before the first launch," he told Dow Jones Newswires earlier this week as the Copenhagen-based pharmaceutical company prepared for regulatory approval for launching the potential blockbuster diabetes drug in Europe. It got that okay on Friday.

Krogsgaard Thomsen said Novo Nordisk hopes to launch Victoza in most of the EU region within about a year, starting on major markets such as Germany, the UK and Denmark.

Victoza, also known as Liraglutide, belongs to a relatively new kind of diabetes drugs class known as GLP-1 analogues. In contrast to conventional treatment with insulin, it doesn't risk pushing blood glucose dangerously low and also helps patients lose weight.

Analysts and investors have seen significant sales potential for the drug, which in April was recommended for European approval by a regulatory committee, only weeks after a Food and Drug Administration panel came to a split vote on whether to recommend it for a launch in the U.S.

It is still uncertain whether or not Victoza will be launched in that country although Novo Nordisk is in dialogue with the FDA and hopes for approval "within months".

Krogsgaard Thomsen admitted that the U.S. is Victoza's most important potential market, but added that there could be an equal number of patients taking the drug in Europe within some 10 years, although the pricing of the drug may be lower than in the U.S.

He said Victoza "in a way has to build the GLP-1 market," since few similar treatments exist today.

The drug should be able to gain a strong position in the GLP-1 market since tests have indicated that it is more effective than its closest competitor, Eli Lilly's (LLY) and Amylin's (AMLN) Byetta, he said.

He added that it will also be an attractive option compared to conventional treatment with modern insulin even though it's some 50% more expensive at a cost per daily use of roughly EUR3, thanks to its good blood glucose and body weight control and the fact that patients don't have to spend money on regularly checking their glucose levels.

Still, Krogsgaard Thomsen said competition is bound to turn more intense. "All companies want to have a stake in the GLP-1 field," he said, adding: "That is why it is important for us to have approval now, and market early".

Company Web site: http://www.novonordisk.com

-By Gustav Sandstrom, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3099; gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com