Shares of Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NOVO) plummeted Friday after reporting results in a late-stage trial for its experimental CagriSema weight loss drug that missed expectations.
The maker of the wildly popular Wegovy obesity drug said its new drug candidate helped patients reduce their weight by 22.7%, below the 25% it told media outlets it had previously forecast.
The stock had pared some losses to trade down around 18.8% at 12:30 p.m. London time. Shares of rival obesity drug maker Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) jumped 10% in pre-market trade but came off highs to trade around 5% higher.
The trial results deal a blow to expectations that CagriSema could become a next-generation obesity drug. The two-drug injectable treatment combines semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, along with amylin analog Cagrilintide, a nascent form of weight loss treatment.
The phase three trial was based on around 3,400 people with obesity, or who were overweight with one or more comorbidities, and took place over 68 weeks.
In comments to the media however, Novo said that CagriSema had outperformed Wegovy in weight reduction and that its performance was “on par with best-in-class treatments.”
NOVO shares were pasted $20.40, or 19.7%,in the first hour of trade to $83.03.