The logos of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, maker of the blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss therapies Ozempic and Wegovy is seen outdoors theri constructing as the corporate presents the annual report at Novo Nordisk in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, on February 5, 2025.
Mads Claus Rasmussen | Afp | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk on Wednesday flagged promising late-stage trial outcomes for its new Cagrilinitide obesity remedy, because the Danish pharmaceutical large seeks a next-generation different to its blockbuster Wegovy weight-loss drug.
Early evaluation from a part 3 REDEFINE 1 trial confirmed the once-weekly Cagrilintide monotherapy injection helped sufferers scale back their weight by 11.8% on common after 68 weeks, in comparison with 2.3% for these on placebo, the corporate mentioned.
Cagrilintide is a nascent type of weight reduction remedy which differs current GLP-1s, corresponding to Novo Nordisk”s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. The long-acting amylin analogue which works by mimicking a hormone that’s co-secreted with insulin in the pancreas to extend satiety.
The drug maker additionally pointed to the remedy’s elevated tolerability profile, describing it as “well-tolerated” with the most typical negative effects being gastrointestinal and primarily “mild to moderate.”
Shares of Novo Nordisk had been up 1.3% by 11:15 a.m. London time, shortly after the findings had been launched.
“In our clinical trials, Cagrilintide has provided substantial weight loss, in a distinct manner compared to approved obesity medications, and appears well-tolerated,” Martin Holst Lange, Novo Nordisk’s chief scientific officer and government vp of analysis and improvement, mentioned in an announcement.
“We’re excited that these data, the first phase 3 data of a next-generation amylin therapy, show promise and we look forward to further investigating Cagrilintide’s potential in the dedicated phase 3 RENEW programme,” Lange added.
Novo Nordisk is looking for a next-generation obesity remedy after the runaway success of its Ozempic diabetes and Wegovy obesity therapies have these days come underneath stress from provide constraints and elevated competitors from copycat compounded drug makers.
Drug makers are additionally looking for different therapies for sufferers who wrestle to stay on GLP-1s long run. Roche and Zealand Pharma are additionally creating an amylin analogue obesity remedy referred to as Petrelintide.
Investors had been beforehand disappointed by late-stage trial outcomes for CagriSema, a mix remedy which mixes Semaglutide, the energetic ingredient in Wegovy, together with Cagrilintide.
However, Soren Lontoft, pharma fairness analyst at Sydbank, informed CNBC that the side-effect profile was maybe essentially the most promising side of the brand new remedy.
“The side effect profile for Cagrilintide is of more interest than the weight loss. A more favourable side effect profile (with low discontinuation rate) than Wegovy and Zepbound is what I’m looking for,” Lontoft mentioned by electronic mail on Tuesday.
The sub-analysis trial outcomes, which had been introduced on the European Association for the Study of Diabetes congress in Vienna, Austria, evaluated grownup sufferers with obesity or chubby and a weight-related comorbidity with out diabetes.
A devoted part 3 RENEW trial — which investigates the efficacy and security of the drug in sufferers with obesity or who had been chubby, however with out related comorbidities — is scheduled to start out in late 2025.