New punishment for Novo Nordisk. The Scandinavian company acknowledged on Monday that an older oral version of its drug semaglutide did not meet its main goal in late-stage clinical trials to test whether this drug can delay cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients.
After the announcement, the shares of the Danish company suffered a new penalty, falling by more than 12%, to 266.90 crowns, the lowest price since the summer of 2021. Since the beginning of the year, the shares have lost more than 55% of their value due to the serious crisis of Novo Nordisk, which suffers from strong competition in the key segment of anti-obesity treatments.
The punishment of Novo Nordisk, once a European star on financial markets, contrasts with the sharp rise of its American rival Eli Lilly which, late last week, became the first pharmaceutical company to surpass the trillion-dollar market capitalization mark. Shares of the American pharmaceutical company rise 36% this year after rising 32% in 2024, given the growth prospects of its drugs called GLP-1, used to treat obesity and diabetes.
In relation to the Alzheimer’s trials, Novo Nordisk noted that patients who took the drug did not experience slower progression of their disease, according to a cognitive assessment. The company announced that it will suspend its planned study extension for a year.
In this sense, the data from the reports was crucial for Novo, as Alzheimer’s disease would represent an important new market for GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide, following its success in treating obesity and diabetes. And all in a sector like that of Alzheimer’s patients, which has very limited therapeutic alternatives.
The drug being tested is Rybelsus, a tablet approved only for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Both Rybelsus, Ozempic and Wegovy are based on the same active ingredient, semaglutide, a GLP-1 medicine. “Although semaglutide has not demonstrated efficacy in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, the extensive evidence supporting it continues to provide benefits to people with type 2 diabetes, obesity and related comorbidities,” said Martin Holst Lange, chief scientific officer of Novo Nordisk.
The Danish company is engaged in a drastic restructuring, which involves both company top management and the board of directors, with the aim of emerging from the operational crisis in which it is immersed. As part of its latest moves, Novo Nordisk has opened a takeover war with Pfizer for control of start the American Metsera, which develops new anti-obesity drugs. In the end, after several bids were submitted, the winner was Pfizer, with a deal that valued Metsera at over $10 billion.
