Novo Nordisk logo view in the company's office in Bagsvaerd, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, March 8, 2024.
Tom Little Reuters
Copenhagen, Denmark – Novo Nordisk Defending disappointing test results for his very resolved candidate for new generation of Cagrisema obesity drugs, insisting that it would be “important” weight loss treatment.
General Director of Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen on Thursday confirmed the sharp response of the share price after two subsequent late attempts, showed an expanding weight reduction compared to the company's own goals, but said, however, that he “encouraged” by the drug weight loss profile.
“I am very sure of Cagrisema,” he told shareholders at the annual general meeting of the company in Copenhagen in Denmark.
“It will be an important product for us.”
Cagrisema is a combination of Cagrillintide – the emerging form of treating weight loss known as an analogue of amylin – and semaglutide, an active ingredient in Wegova.
Header results from the late stage of redefinition-2 released At the beginning of this month, he showed that Cagrisema helped the obese or overweight of adult patients with type 2 diabetes to lose 15.7% of their weight in 68 weeks, compared to 3.1% with placebo. It was below the high percentage of percentage of validity of the forecast.
Previous late attempt published In December, he showed that the drug helped patients with obesity or overweight with one or more comorbidities, but not type 2 diabetes, reduce their weight by 22.7% after 68 weeks, also below the expected 25%.
Both results recorded a significant value from the NOVO share price as investors' hope for finding a better alternative to the existing injection and Wegova's rival in Wegova Eli Lily Zepbound, both GLP-1 drugs, were transferred. Once beloved supplies fell by more than 50% compared to the peaks of 2024.
Novo Nordisk
The Danish pharmaceutical giant once again stood on Thursday, when the shareholders called the management board to clearer and tactically justified attempts and goals in order to cause less dramatic movements of stock prices.
Frugaard Jørgensen confirmed criticism, especially around the lack of accurate transmission of a flexible trial project, which caused questions about tolerance, with less than two third patients going to the highest dose after 68 weeks.
“22.7% is not 25%, so some were disappointed with this,” he said, however, adding that the company believes that there is “further potential for further development of Cagrisema,” including by extending the trial period and general dose.
Novo Nordisk now runs a new phase attempt, called Redefinia 11, which “will continue to examine the potential of Cagrisema,” said the general director.
It seems because the weight loss industry remains divided into wider applications and the results of obese drugs outside the total weight reduction. In the note at the beginning of this month, Bofa Global Research said that he became “a bit more cautious in the field of differentiation” in the treatment of obesity and diabetes after the latest results of Cagrisema.
However, Soren Lontoft, Pharma Equity analyst in Sydbank, he said CNBC last week, that various treatment was needed to remedy both obesity and tolerance, as well as associated health threat, such as cardiovascular diseases, sleep apnea and liver disease.
“It is obvious that there is a great market chance, but also requires a portfolio of products that meet the different needs of patients,” noted Fruergaard Jørgensen.