Shares of Novo Nordisk dropped Monday after the company reported that its next-generation obesity drug produced weight loss results in diabetes patients that fell short of investors’ expectations, the second major data release that financial observers were disappointed by.
In a late-stage trial of people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, the treatment, called CagriSema, led patients to lose 13.7% of their weight over 68 weeks when looking at all participants, including those who dropped out. It led to 15.7% weight loss when considering only the participants who stuck with treatment.
Investors were expecting greater weight loss, particularly since an earlier mid-stage trial of CagriSema showed that patients with obesity and diabetes lost 15.6% of their weight over a period of just 32 weeks. In the new late-stage trial, though, Novo incorporated a flexible dosing protocol, meaning it allowed patients to modify their dosing rather than stay on the highest dose. By the end of the study, 62% of patients were on the highest dose, Novo said.
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