A new type of obesity drug being developed by Novo Nordisk has fallen short of expectations set by the company in a closely watched Phase 3 trial, causing shares to lose nearly a fifth of their value in early trading on Friday.
In a statement, Novo said that the drug, a combination therapy called cagrisema, helped people lose up to about 23% of their body weight after 68 weeks, about 20 percentage points higher than placebo recipients and 8 higher than those who received the company’s popular weight loss drug Wegovy alone.
That weight loss total missed the bar set by Novo executives, who had been hoping that cagrisema would spur about 25% weight loss over the course of the trial. Investors were anticipating as much as 27% weight loss, according to a survey conducted by Jefferies analyst Peter Welford.
Additionally, patients were allowed to modify their dosing over the course of the trial, and by its end, only about 57% of patients treated with cagrisema were on the highest dose, versus around 70% of those who got Wegovy and around 83% of participants who got cagrilintide, one of the components of cagrisema. The findings suggest “possible tolerability concerns” for cagrisema, Welford wrote to investors Friday.
Cagrisema is a combination of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, and cagrilintide. It’s a once-weekly shot targeting multiple gut hormones that regulate metabolism and hunger. Novo has been looking to it as a way to one-up its key weight loss rival Eli Lilly, whose drug Zepbound helped people lose as much as 21% of their body weight in clinical testing.
Unlike Zepbound, which targets two gut hormones with a single drug, cagrisema’s two components are injected separately with a dual-chamber pen device. That delivery method could limit its commercial outlook given the struggles drug companies have had keeping up with demand for weight-loss medicines. But Novo has been hoping cagrisema might prove clearly more effective than its chief rival.
The trial results are a blow to Novo’s obesity ambitions, then, disappointing investors eager for signs it can continue to dominate a drug class projected to eventually surpass $100 billion in yearly sales. Novo is not only battling with Lilly, but trying to stay ahead of a host of other biotechnology companies eyeing a share of the market.
In the trial, Novo enrolled 3,417 people with a body mass index greater than 30 or above 27 and with one weight-related health condition. Trial investigators randomized them to take cagrisema, semaglutide and a placebo, cagrilintide and a placebo, or two placebo drugs.
The main objective was a comparison of cagrisema to the two placebos on weight loss. Secondary study goals included comparing weight loss for people receiving the combination to those who got the single drugs.
Shares fell about 19% in pre-market trading on Friday, while Lilly shares climbed about 10%.
Novo has a second Phase 3 study called Redefine 2 that’s expected to produce results in 2025. It’s also working on another drug combination it calls amycretin as a weekly shot and daily pill.
- SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
- PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. Access Here.
- PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
- PlatoESG. Carbon, CleanTech, Energy, Environment, Solar, Waste Management. Access Here.
- PlatoHealth. Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. Access Here.
- Source: https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/novo-nordisk-cagrisema-obesity-drug-study-results/735854/