Medical bottles and syringe are seen with Novo Nordisk logo displayed on a screen in the background.
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Shares of Novo Nordisk fell on Monday, after the Danish pharmaceutical giant said its next-generation weight-loss drug CagriSema helped obese or overweight adult patients with type 2 diabetes drop 15.7% of their weight after 68 weeks.
The company’s stock was down 6.3% at 11:22 a.m. London time.
Novo Nordisk, which manufactures the fiercely popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, previously forecast weight loss of 25% for patients who take CagriSema. In another late-trial result published in December, the company found CagriSema helped patients reduce their weight by 22.7% in that test.
CagriSema is being investigated by Novo Nordisk as a weight-loss drug for adults who are overweight or obese, as well as a treatment for adults with type 2 diabetes. The company currently expects to file for regulatory approval for CagriSema in the first quarter of 2026.
Shares of U.S. rival Eli Lilly, which makes weight-loss drug Mounjaro, briefly jumped higher after Novo Nordisk’s update on Monday, but were trading down 1.2% by 11:34 a.m. in London.
Markets have been hoping that CagriSema could become a next-generation weight-loss drug. The treatment, injected once weekly, is a combination of cagrilintide and semaglutide — the active ingredient in Wegovy.
The phase 3 trial of CagriSema had 1,206 participants with a mean baseline body weight of 102kg (225 lb).
Despite a negative reaction to the results from investors on Monday, Novo Nordisk touted the “superior weight loss” achieved by those taking CagriSema compared to those given a placebo, who shed just 3.1% of their weight throughout the 68-week period.
Novo Nordisk also said the drug appeared to have a “safe and well-tolerated profile,” with the most common side effect being mild to moderate gastrointestinal symptoms. These diminished over time, the company noted.
Last week, Novo Nordisk launched an online pharmacy, Novocare, to allow consumers to purchase Wegovy directly from the company at a discounted price of $499 a month.
The success of its weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic has helped Novo Nordisk become one of the most valuable companies in the world.
