Novo Nordisk shares drop 15% after poor trial results for new obesity drug

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Novo Nordisk shares tumbled by 15 per cent on Monday after the latest weight-loss drug from Europe’s pharmaceuticals champion disappointed in a key trial.

Investors ditched Copenhagen-listed Novo after the average weight loss achieved by CagriSema, the company’s latest once-weekly injection, fell short of that delivered by tirzepatide, the active ingredient in treatments developed by US rival Eli Lilly.

In a sign of the once high-flying drugmaker’s importance to the Danish stock market, Copenhagen’s OMX index was down almost 6 per cent by late afternoon.

CagriSema achieved average weight loss of 23 per cent in an 84-week trial, Novo said. That compared with 25.5 per cent for tirzepatide. Shares in Eli Lilly climbed 3 per cent in early trading on Wall Street.

Novo’s latest drug contains a new molecule, cagrilintide, as well as semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, the blockbuster drugs that briefly made Novo Europe’s largest company by market value in 2024.

Novo shares fell as much as 17 per cent and were down 15 per cent by late afternoon trading.

The results for CagriSema cap a calamitous 18 months for Novo. The obesity drug pioneer has fallen behind Eli Lilly, faced growing competition in the US and ousted Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, its long-standing chief executive.

This month the group announced that it expected 2026 net sales and profits to fall as much as 13 per cent. It linked this to a decline in US prices following a deal with the Trump administration to cut drug costs for consumers.

Novo also faces patent expiries for Wegovy and Ozempic this year in markets such as Canada, Brazil, India and China, as well as fierce competition from cheaper copycat versions in the US.

The group’s new chief executive Mike Doustdar, who has been in the job since August, has described the price cuts in the US as painful.

Novo’s shares have almost halved over the past 12 months and trade two-thirds below their peak of June 2024.

Novo submitted CagriSema to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval in December based on earlier trial results and a decision is expected later this year.