![\"British](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Feature-Lab-EDX-e1736782972662.jpg\")
\t\tNovo Nordisk has struggled to keep up with Eli Lilly\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tMonday 23 February 2026 12:12 pm\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tNovo Nordisk has struggled to keep up with Eli Lilly\t<\/p>\n
Shares in Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk have shed more than a sixth of their value after poor drug trial results sparked an investor selloff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The firm behind weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy saw its shares tumble by 16.7 per cent to 257.23 Danish Krone on Monday morning after trials of its new obesity shot, CargriSema, fell short of its competitor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other major pharma companies saw significant stock falls on the back of the news, including AstraZeneca (down 0.5 per cent), Johnson & Johnson (down 0.4 per cent) and Pfizer (down 0.8 per cent).<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk kickstarted the weight-loss boom and was once Europe\u2019s most valuable company but it has struggled to keep up with the rapid growth of its competitors, including US-based Eli Lilly.<\/p>\n
People treated with a standard dose of the new drug saw 20.2 per cent weight loss after 84 weeks, lower than the 23.6 per cent achieved by Lilly\u2019s trizepatide, Novo said on Monday.<\/p>\n
These disappointing results spooked investors, delivering the latest chapter in a recent history of share price falls for the Danish firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Per Hansen, an investment economist at Nordnet, said<\/a> Novo\u2019s downturn was creating a \u201cspillover\u201d effect which saw foreign investors collectively pull out of Danish companies.<\/p>\n Novo Nordisk: competition is \u2018good\u2019<\/p>\n The firm announced 9,000 job cuts in September, followed by the exit of its chairman and six board members in October.\u00a0<\/p>\n