Novo Nordisk's New Weight-Loss Drug Fails to Impress Investors

Novo Nordisk, a big player in Europe's pharma scene, saw its shares take a huge hit on Friday. Why? Their latest weight-loss drug, CagriSema, didn't meet expectations. The drug helped patients lose about 22. 7% of their body weight in late-stage trials, but that was barely better than Eli Lilly's rival drug, Mounjaro. Only around half of the patients got the highest dose. The company's shares dropped by as much as 27% in Danish trading.

The market for these drugs has been growing fast, now worth around $24 billion. Novo Nordisk wanted CagriSema to be the star, especially after their previous setbacks. The drug combines two ingredients, semaglutide and cagrilintide, to make people feel fuller. Side effects were mostly mild and went away over time. CagriSema did help some patients lose a lot of weight. About 40% of them lost 25% of their body weight over 68 weeks. But overall, it didn't wow investors like Novo Nordisk hoped.

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