Novo Nordisk Stock Plummets After New Weight-Loss Drug Falls Short Against Rival

Stock prices for Denmark-based Novo Nordisk dropped by more than 15 percent on Feb. 23 after the global healthcare firm announced disappointing results from a clinical trial of CagriSema.

Known for its Ozempic injectable medication for treating diabetes and obesity, Novo Nordisk’s newest pharmaceutical just completed its phase 3 trial, called REDEFINE 4, an 84-week trial test of CagriSema, a combination of cagrilintide 2.4 mg and semaglutide 2.4 mg injectable.

The trial compared the drug to tirzepatide 15 mg, manufactured by competitor Eli Lilly and Company, headquartered in Indianapolis. Tirzepatide, marketed under the brand names Zepbound and Mounjaro, is also a weekly, self-administered injectable medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management.

According to Novo Nordisk, the trial included 809 random patients dealing with obesity and one or more co-morbidities, and an average weight of 250 pounds. The trial was an open-label design, meaning that all participants and clinicians were aware of the specific drug administered throughout the trial.

When analyzing patients treated regardless of dose modification, those treated with CagriSema achieved a weight loss of 23 percent after 84 weeks, compared to 25.5 percent of those treated with tirzepatide. Those who received injectables, regardless of treatment adherence, achieved 20.2 percent weight loss in CagriSema patients and 23.6 percent in tirzepatide patients.

“The trial did not achieve its primary endpoint of demonstrating non-inferiority on weight loss for CagriSema compared to tirzepatide after 84 weeks,” the announcement indicated.

However, Novo Nordisk reported that those receiving CagriSema experienced few adverse effects, with the most common being mild to moderate gastrointestinal reactions that diminished over time.

“We are pleased with the weight loss of 23 percent for CagriSema in this open-label trial,” Novo Nordisk executive vice president Martin Holst Lange said in the announcement.

“Based on the learnings from completed studies, we look forward to the REDEFINE 11 readout and the initiation of the higher-dose CagriSema trial, which are both designed to assess the full weight-loss potential of CagriSema.”

Lange added that CagriSema has the potential to be the first GLP-1/amylin combination product on the market for people living with obesity. GLP1 or gluten-like peptide, along with amylin, are both naturally occurring hormones within the body. GLP-1 enhances insulin secretion and helps suppress appetite. Amylin is a pancreatic hormone released with insulin to help reduce food intake.

CagriSema was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2025, based on Novo Nordisk’s REDEFINE 1 and REDEFINE 2 pivotal trials, and an FDA decision is expected later this year.

The REDEFINE 11 phase 3 trial exploring CagriSema 2.4/2.4 mg full weight-loss potential in obesity is expected to report data during the first half of 2027.