Novo Nordisk's next obesity drug falls short of Lilly rival, wiping billions off its market value

The Danish drugmaker's shares were disconnected 14% up of the doorbell successful the US (it fell arsenic overmuch arsenic 15% successful Europe), aft it disclosed that CagriSema did not conscionable its superior nonsubjective of demonstrating non-inferiority to Lilly's tirzepatide successful presumption of value nonaccomplishment implicit 84 weeks.

Patients connected a 2.4mg dose of CagriSema mislaid an mean of 23% of their assemblage weight, against 25.5% for those connected a 15mg dose of tirzepatide. Lilly's banal roseate astir 3.5% successful premarket trading.

The effect is simply a important setback for a institution already nether pressure. Novo warned earlier this period that income and nett maturation could dilatory by 5% to 13%, arsenic contention stiffens, US prices autumn and immoderate of its cardinal products suffer exclusivity successful definite markets.

Tirzepatide, the progressive constituent successful Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound treatments, has precocious overtaken Novo's semaglutide brands Ozempic and Wegovy successful US medicine volumes.

CagriSema combines semaglutide with cagrilintide, a pancreatic hormone that influences appetite. Novo's main technological serviceman Martin Holst Lange insisted the cause could inactive go the archetypal GLP-1 and amylin operation therapy for obesity, and argued that cagrilintide adds meaningful further value nonaccomplishment connected apical of existing treatments. The institution said it plans further trials, including those investigating higher-dose combinations.

That whitethorn yet beryllium true. But for now, Novo's communicative has shifted from 1 of astir unstoppable momentum to thing much complicated: a institution defending its pb successful a marketplace it erstwhile appeared to person locked up.