Novo Nordisk plunges following latest CagriSema data

Investing.com -- Novo Nordisk’s stock has dropped around 6.6% in premarket trading Monday following the release of its latest clinical trial data for CagriSema, a treatment for adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes. 

The data, presented from the REDEFINE 2 trial, showed that participants on CagriSema experienced a 15.7% weight loss after 68 weeks.

The trial included 1,206 randomised people with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes and a mean baseline body weight of 102 kg.

The company said the trial achieved its primary endpoint by demonstrating a statistically significant and superior weight loss at week 68 with CagriSema versus placebo.

They added that “when applying the treatment policy estimand2, people treated with CagriSema achieved a superior weight loss of 13.7% compared to 3.4% with placebo.”

However, the results have not been enough to reassure investors, as the trial allowed patients to self-select their dose of the drug, and fewer than two-thirds of participants were on the highest dose by the trial’s conclusion. 

The premarket decline in Novo Nordisk’s stock is the most significant since December 20. 

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), a major competitor in the obesity drug market, has seen a 1.3% decline in premarket trading.

Reacting to the release, Jefferies analysts said: “REDEFINE 2 headlines for CagriSema in obese diabetics likely further dent belief in its commercial profile, in our view.”

“Weight loss of 13.7% falls short of our 15+% bar that would have suggested amylin offers a differentiated profile vs  GLP-1 in this population, with result in-line with  GLP-1s  that show 30%-35% less weight loss in diabetics, plus again appearing similar to Zepbound,” added the firm.