Novo Nordisk shares plunge 19% after disappointing test results; Lilly steps in in the premarket
Boxes of Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk can be seen in a pharmacy.
Hollie Adams | Reuters
Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk fell more than 24% at one point on Friday after reporting results from a late-stage trial for its experimental weight-loss drug CagriSema that fell short of expectations.
The maker of the wildly popular obesity drug Wegovy said its new drug candidate helped patients reduce their weight by 22.7%, below the 25% it previously predicted, according to CNBC.
The stock erased some losses and was trading at around 18.8% at 12:30 p.m. London time. Shares of rival obesity drug maker Eli Lilly jumped 10% in premarket trading but recovered from highs to trade about 5% higher.
The study results represent a setback to expectations that CagriSema could become a next-generation obesity drug. The two-drug injectable treatment combines semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, along with the amylin analog cagrilintide new form of weight loss treatment.
The phase 3 study was based on around 3,400 people with obesity or overweight with one or more comorbidities and took place over a period of 68 weeks.
However, in comments to CNBC, Novo said that CagriSema outperformed Wegovy in weight loss and that its performance was “on par with best-in-class treatments.”
“We are encouraged by CagriSema’s weight loss profile, demonstrating superiority over semaglutide and cagrilintide monotherapy in the REDEFINE-1 study. This was achieved despite only 57% of patients reaching the highest CagriSema dose,” said Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president of development at Novo Nordisk, according to a separate press release.
“With the findings from the REDEFINE-1 study, we plan to further explore the additional weight loss potential of CagriSema,” he added.
Novo added that initial and complete results will be presented next year and that regulatory submission of the drug is expected by the end of 2025.
Results from a second phase 3 trial, REDEFINE 2, based on adults with type 2 diabetes who are either obese or overweight, are also expected in the first half of next year.
The company suffered another setback earlier this month when a direct clinical trial showed that Eli Lilly’s Zepbound resulted in better weight loss compared to Wegovy.
The study, sponsored by Lilly, showed that Zepbound helped patients lose an average of 20.2%, or about 50 pounds, after 72 weeks, while Wegovy helped them lose an average of less than 13.7% over the same period. Novo said at the time that it was waiting for full data.
