Shares of Novo Nordisk plummeted to a four-year low on Monday after the Danish pharmaceutical giant announced its highly anticipated clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s treatment failed to meet its primary goal.
The trial investigated whether semaglutide, the active ingredient in the company’s blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, could slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in patients.
In a statement, Novo Nordisk explained that while semaglutide treatment did lead to improvements in disease-related biomarkers across two separate trials, this did not translate into a statistically significant delay in cognitive decline. The study’s objective was to slow the rate of cognitive decline by at least 20%.
Following the news, Novo’s stock fell 8.3% to 279 Danish kroner, its lowest point since July 2021. The results also impacted competitors, with Eli Lilly shares dipping approximately 1%, while Biogen’s stock rose 5% in premarket trading.
The outcome was not entirely unexpected, as analysts had described the trial as a long shot, and the company itself had called it a “lottery ticket.”
“Based on the significant unmet need in Alzheimer’s disease as well as a number of indicative data points, we felt we had a responsibility to explore semaglutide’s potential, despite a low likelihood of success,” said Martin Holst Lange, Novo’s Chief Scientific Officer.
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, remains a notoriously difficult condition to treat as global populations age. Current therapies, such as Leqembi from Biogen and Eisai and a similar drug from Eli Lilly, have shown they can slow the disease’s progression by up to a third but are associated with the risk of significant side effects.
Source link
