Novo Nordisk Shares Plunge 20% After Disappointing Take a look at Outcomes; Lilly jumps

Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical large Novo Nordisk fell about 20% Friday after saying outcomes from a late-stage trial of its experimental weight-loss drug CagriSema that missed expectations.

The maker of the favored weight problems drug Wegovy mentioned its new drug candidate helped sufferers cut back their weight by 22.7%, under the 25% it beforehand reported to CNBC.

Shares of a rival weight problems drug maker Elie Lilly jumped greater than 5% initially of the session.

The trial outcomes deal a blow to expectations that CagriSema might change into a next-generation weight problems drug. The 2-drug injectable therapy combines semaglutide, the lively ingredient in Wegovy, with the amylin analogue Cagrilintide, a emerging form of weight loss treatment.

Nonetheless, in feedback to CNBC, Novo mentioned CagriSema outperformed Wegovy in weight discount and that its efficiency was “on par with best-in-class remedies.”

“We’re inspired by the burden loss profile of CagriSema demonstrating superiority over semaglutide and cagrilintide monotherapy within the REDEFINE 1 trial. This aim was achieved regardless that solely 57% of sufferers reached the very best dose of CagriSema,” Martin Holst Lange, government vice chairman for improvement at Novo Nordisk, mentioned in a separate press launch.

“With the data obtained from the REDEFINE 1 trial, we plan to additional discover the extra weight reduction potential of CagriSema,” he added.

The part three trial included roughly 3,400 individuals who had been overweight or obese with a number of comorbidities and occurred over 68 weeks. It adopted a versatile protocol, that means sufferers might change their dosage all through the trial. On the finish, solely 57.3% of sufferers handled with CagriSema acquired the very best dose.

Novo mentioned the primary full outcomes will likely be offered subsequent 12 months and that it expects the drug to be submitted to regulatory authorities by the top of 2025. The outcomes of a second part 3 trial, REDEFINE 2, involving adults with sort 2 diabetes who’re both overweight or obese, can be anticipated within the first half of subsequent 12 months.

Soren Lontoft, a pharmaceutical inventory analyst at Sydbank, advised CNBC that Friday’s inventory response was justified for individuals who see the way forward for the market outlined solely by complete weight discount.

Nonetheless, he highlighted rising segmentation inside the market – together with amongst those that can not tolerate conventional GLP-1 and people who favor much less weight reduction – with some individuals extra interested in various choices.

“In the event you suppose the weight problems market will likely be outlined by a portfolio of medication to deal with completely different wants, then you definately shouldn’t be discouraged by this information,” he mentioned by telephone.

In a notice launched Friday, JPMorgan acknowledged that whereas the outcomes had been disappointing, it continues to see robust potential for the nascent group of amylin analog medicine to emerge as the subsequent part of weight problems therapy.

“Though general weight reduction for the CagriSema mixture was decrease than anticipated, doubtlessly resulting from sufferers altering their dose for the mixture, we consider the topline information for Amylin mono exhibits constant efficacy. anticipated and good tolerability, which confirms the validation of Amylin mono as a mixed therapy. therapeutic strategy,” the analysts wrote.

They added that the outcomes assist the existence of comparable amylin analogue medicine from a competitor. Zeeland Pharmawhose therapy they described as doubtlessly more practical than CagriSema. Zealand CEO Adam Steensberg advised CNBC in October that its drug Petrelintide was its “crown jewel” and that it was looking for a partner to market it.

JPMorgan mentioned it now expects a partnership with Zealand Pharma as early as subsequent 12 months.

This comes as competitors continues to accentuate within the weight reduction drug market, with increasingly more gamers collaborating. join the fray amid rising demand.

Earlier this month, Novo confronted one other setback when a face to face clinical trial confirmed that Eli Lilly’s Zepbound resulted in higher weight reduction than Wegovy.

The trial, sponsored by Lilly, confirmed that Zepbound helped sufferers lose 20.2%, or about 50 kilos, on common after 72 weeks, whereas Wegovy helped them lose 13.7% on common over the identical interval. . Novo mentioned on the time that it was ready for the complete information.

Correction: This text has been up to date to right the spelling of Petrelintide.