Trial Setback for Novo Nordisk: CagriSema Underperforms Against Eli Lilly Rival, Stocks Slip
- Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug CagriSema disappoints in trial. It is lagging behind the rival therapy, to question investors and triggering stock decline fears.
Novo Nordisk shares tumble after its next-generation weight-loss drug CagriSema misses a key clinical trial endpoint against Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide.
The stock of Novo Nordisk fell by 15% on Monday. The reason behind this is that it is said that its next-generation weight loss drug didn’t meet its prime goal of showing that it was not lower than Eli Lilly’s rival drug.
In a statement, Novo said in a statement that ‘The drug, CagriSema, didn’t attain its main endpoint of showcasing non-inferiority on weight loss when compared to Eli Lilly’s rival drug tirzepatide after 84 weeks’.
Tirzepatide is considered an active ingredient in Lilly’s mega-blockbuster medicines Mounjaro and Zepbound. In U.S. prescriptions, it has overtaken Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy.
Since June 2021, Novo’s Copenhagen-listed shares have been down 15% at 256 Danish kroner, hitting their lowest level. Patients consuming about a dose of 2.4 mg of CagriSema can get successful weight loss of 23% after 84 weeks as compared to 25.5% with a 15 mg dose of tirzepatide.
Novo is now looking for more Clinical trial setbacks to test CagriSema, like the higher-dose combinations. The company has great expectations for the drug, which merges the semaglutide and cagrilintide. It is one more hormone released in the pancreas that directly affects the appetite of a person.
Even after that, Monday’s trial result is giving another drive to the Danish drugmaker as it fell short against a drug previously on the market, and comes after the stock fell almost 50% in 2025. There will be a direct impact on the Obesity treatment market.
According to CEO Mike Doustdar, who told CNBC, “People should hope that it moves down before it comes back up”.
