Ozempic and Wegovy boxes made by Novo Nordisk appear in a drugstore.
Holly Adams | Reuters
Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk Its shares fell more than 24% at one point on Friday after announcing results from a late-stage trial of its experimental weight-loss drug CagriSema that beat expectations.
The maker of the hugely popular obesity drug Wegovy said its new drug candidate helped patients reduce their weight by 22.7%, less than the 25% it previously reported CNBC had expected.
The stock pared some of its losses to trade down roughly 19.35% at 1:10pm London time. Shares of a competing company that manufactures obesity drugs Eli Lilly The stock jumped 10% in premarket trading but has pulled back from its highs to trade roughly 5% higher.
The trial results deal a blow to expectations that Cagresima could become the next generation of obesity drugs. The two-drug injectable treatment combines semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wijovi, with the amylin analogue cagrelintide, which is A modern form of weight loss treatment.
The phase 3 trial was based on about 3,400 people who were obese, or overweight with one or more comorbidities, and was conducted over 68 weeks.
However, in comments to CNBC, Novo said CagriSema outperformed Wegovy in weight reduction and that its performance was “on par with best-in-class treatments.”
“We are encouraged by the weight loss profile of CagriSema that was shown to be superior to both semaglutide and cagrilintide in monotherapy in the REDEFINE 1 trial. This was achieved even though only 57% of patients reached the highest dose of CagriSema,” said Martin Holst-Lange, M.D. Chief Development Officer at Novo Nordisk, in a separate press release.
“With the insights gained from the REDEFINE 1 trial, we plan to further explore CagriSema’s additional weight loss potential,” he added.
Novo added that the main and full results will be presented next year, and that it expects to submit the drug to regulators by the end of 2025. Results of the phase 2 trial, REDEFINE 2, based on adults with type 2 diabetes who are obese or overweight, It is also expected during the first half of next year.
“Efficiency in line with expectations”
In a note on Friday, JPMorgan acknowledged that although the results were disappointing, it continued to see strong potential for the emerging amylin analogue drug group, which could be more tolerable than traditional GLP-1 weight loss treatments.
“Although the headline weight loss for the CagriSema group was less than expected, possibly due to patients adjusting their dose downward for this group, we believe the headline data for Amylin mono show efficacy in line with expectations and good tolerability, providing validation for Amylin mono.” As an effective treatment.” treatment approach,” the analysts wrote.
They added that the results provide support for similar amylin analogues from competitors New Zealand Pharmawhose treatment they described as potentially more effective than CagriSema. Adam Steensberg, the New Zealand company’s CEO, told CNBC in October that petrilintide was the “jewel in the crown” and that it was. Seeking a partner To bring it to market.
JPMorgan said it now expects the partnership next year.
This comes as competition in the weight loss drug market continues to intensify, with more players Join the battle Amidst increasing demand.
Earlier this month, Novo faced another setback when A Head-to-head clinical trial showed that Eli Lilly’s Zepbound resulted in superior weight loss compared to Wegovy.
The trial, sponsored by Lilly, showed that Zepbound helped patients shed 20.2%, or nearly 50 pounds, on average after 72 weeks, while Wegovy helped them lose less than 13.7% on average over the same period. Novo said at the time that it was awaiting full data.
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