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In a pharmacy you see boxes of Ozempic and Wegovy manufactured by Novo Nordisk.
Hollie Adams | Reuters
Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical giant Nordisk plunged about 20% on Friday after reporting results in 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%, down from the 25% it told CNBC it had previously predicted.
Shares of rival anti-obesity drug maker Eli Lilly jumped more than 5% in early trading.
The trial results deal a blow to expectations that CagriSema could become a next-generation anti-obesity drug. The two-drug injectable treatment combines semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, along with the amylin analog cagrilintide, an emerging form of weight-loss treatment.
However, in comments to CNBC, Novo said CagriSema had surpassed 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, which demonstrates superiority over semaglutide and cagrilintide monotherapy in the REDEFINE 1 trial. This was achieved despite only 57% of patients achieving the highest dose of CagriSema,” Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president. for Novo Nordisk Development, in a separate press release.
“With the insights gained from the REDEFINE 1 trial, we plan to further explore the additional weight loss potential of CagriSema,” he added.
The phase three trial involved around 3,400 people with obesity or overweight and one or more comorbidities, and was carried out over 68 weeks. It followed a flexible protocol, meaning patients could change their dose throughout the trial. In the end, only 57.3% of patients treated with CagriSema received the highest dose.
Novo said top-line and full results will be presented next year and that it expects regulatory submission of the drug by the end of 2025. Results from a second Phase 3 trial, REDEFINE 2, based on adults with type 2 diabetes who are obese or overweight, are also expected during the first half of next year.
‘Effectiveness in line with expectations’
Soren Lontoft, a pharmaceutical equity analyst at Sydbank, told CNBC that Friday’s stock reaction was justified for those who see the market’s future defined solely by overall weight loss.
However, it noted growing segmentation within the market, including between those who cannot tolerate traditional GLP-1 and those who prefer less weight loss, with some people more attracted to alternative options.
“If you think the obesity market will be defined by a portfolio of drugs that will address different needs in the future, then you shouldn’t feel pessimistic about this data,” he said by phone.
In a note on Friday, JP Morgan acknowledged that while the results were disappointing, it still saw great potential for the nascent group of amylin analog drugs to emerge as the next phase of obesity treatment.
“Although the topline weight loss for the CagriSema combination was below expectations, possibly due to patients modifying their dose for the combination, we believe the topline data for Amylin mono show efficacy in line with expectations and good tolerability, providing validation of Amylin mono as a treatment approach,” the analysts wrote.
They added that the findings support the use of similar competing amylin analog drugs. Zealand Pharma, whose treatment they described as potentially more effective than CagriSema. Zealand CEO Adam Steensberg told CNBC in October that its drug petrilintide was its “crown jewel” and that it was looking for a partner to bring it to market.
JP Morgan said it now expects a partnership with Zealand Pharma next year.
This comes as competition continues to increase in the weight loss drug market, with more players joining the fray amid rising 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 lose 20.2%, or about 50 pounds, on average after 72 weeks, while Wegovy helped them lose a smaller average of 13.7% over the course of 72 weeks. the same period. Novo said at the time that it was waiting for full data.
