Novo Nordisk falls on Copenhagen stock exchange: anti-obesity drug less effective than US rival

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Novo Nordisk tumbled on the Beijing Stock Exchange after suffering a blow in clinical trials of a next-generation anti-obesity drug that proved less effective than its US rival. The pharmaceutical group's share priceslid to the lowest in more than three years and at a sidereal distance from the high of 1,005 kroner touched in June 2024, thanks to the anti-obesity therapy pioneered by Novo Nordisk.

As competition for supremacy in the highly lucrative market for weight loss products intensifies, the Danish company announced in the morning that its new generation anti-obesity drug CagriSema proved less effective than Eli Lilly's tirzepatide in a comparative study. The study aimed to show that CagriSema was at least as effective as tirzepatide in reducing body weight but 'did not meet the primary objective'. Both drugs were administered for 84 weeks by weekly subcutaneous injection. Novo Nordisk reported that CagriSema (a fixed-dose combination of cagrilintide 2.4 mg and semaglutide 2.4 mg) resulted in a 23% reduction in body weight compared to 25.5% for Eli Lilly's tirzepatide 15 mg. The trials involved 809 subjects with obesity and one or more comorbidities and an average baseline body weight of 114.2 kg.

CagriSema was submitted for approval to the US Fda in December 2025 on the basis of the Redefine 1 and Redefine 2 studies, and the Fda is expected to make a decision by the end of 2026. Eli Lilly's drug is already marketed under the names Zepbound and Mounjaro. Novo Nordisk pointed out that further studies are underway to explore the full weight loss potential of CagriSema, including combinations at higher doses. The group expects the phase 3 Redefine 11 study, which explores the full weight loss potential of CagriSema 2.4/2.4 mg, will publish data during the first half of 2027, while the phase 3 study of higher-dose CagriSema is scheduled to begin during the second half of 2026.