Topline<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk shares plunged on Friday, erasing more than $30 billion in market value after the Danish drugmaker said a late-stage experimental drug failed in a large study, drawing criticism from analysts who said the firm missed an opportunity to expand beyond its weight-loss offerings.<\/p>\n
Analysts were critical of the Ozempic maker\u2019s failed trial for a new experimental drug. <\/p>\n
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
Shares of Novo Nordisk dropped 9.3% to around $46.70 as of Friday morning, marking the stock\u2019s largest intraday loss since February and a 10.6% decline so far this year.<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk reported Friday its ziltivekimab \u201cdid not achieve\u201d goals to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events like a heart attack or stroke in a late-stage clinical trial, and it did not disclose how much the drug reduced risks.<\/p>\n
Jeffries analysts wrote in a note that ziltivekimab would have needed to show at least a 20% risk reduction, and the trial results were \u201cstrategically negative\u201d as they effectively erased a growth opportunity for Novo Nordisk\u2019s business beyond its Ozempic and Wegovy market that could have been worth more than $10 billion annually.<\/p>\n
Goldman Sachs analysts praised the drug\u2019s potential ahead of the trial results, writing ziltivekimab could have been the foundation for Novo Nordisk to build a franchise in cardiovascular disease care and relieve potential risks to sales, which are largely reliant on Ozempic and Wegovy.<\/p>\n
big number<\/p>\n
$30.7 billion. That\u2019s how much was cut from Novo Nordisk\u2019s market capitalization as of Friday\u2019s share price, lowering from $229.2 billion to $198.5 billion, marking a nearly 69% decline since hitting an all-time high of $635.7 billion in June 2024.<\/p>\n
key background<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk, despite the success of its Ozempic and Wegovy drugs in recent years, has worked to expand on its other businesses to bolster sales. The firm has moved to increase the GLP-1 market by expanding into pill versions of its medications, and Novo Nordisk has since launched a Wegovy pill in the United Arab Emirates and the U.K., with plans to sell in the U.S. and globally. <\/p>\n
tangent<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk clashed with Eli Lilly earlier this month, accusing the rival GLP-1 manufacturer of \u201cdeceptive\u201d advertising that Novo Nordisk said relied on outdated data to make its products look less effective. The Ozempic maker said it looked to resolve the dispute out of court, but \u201cLilly refused, calling its advertising \u2018truthful\u2019 and \u2018transparent,\u2019\u201d according to court documents. The motion also asks the court to require Lilly to issue corrective advertising that indicates its ad campaigns had \u201cplanted false beliefs in consumers\u2019 minds.\u201d<\/p>\n