Novo Nordisk’s Weight-Loss Stumble Costs It $125 Billion (And Some Dignity)

Novo Nordisk, the reigning monarch of weight-loss drugs, learned the hard way that close isn’t good enough in the cutthroat world of obesity treatments. Shares in the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic cratered more than 20%, on the NYSE after its shiny new drug, CagriSema, flopped in a key trial. Patients lost 22.7% of their body weight, missing the ambitious 25% target, and investors responded like they’d been force-fed a stale donut. Novo shed $125 billion in market value before calming to a still-painful 20% decline.

The market was already on edge thanks to Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, a rival treatment that’s stealing headlines (and potentially market share). CagriSema, a cocktail of Novo’s proven semaglutide and a new molecule, cagrilintide, didn’t dazzle analysts, who balked at its underwhelming results and complicated delivery device.

Novo’s execs aren’t waving the white flag yet. Martin Holst Lange, the company’s development VP, vowed to tweak dosages and production methods to stay competitive. But with the $150 billion weight-loss market heating up and Lilly flexing its innovation muscles, Novo’s path to dominance just got steeper.

Investors hoped for a slam dunk. What they got was a tepid layup. For Novo, the battle to maintain its weight-loss crown now depends on proving it can innovate faster (and better) than its hungry rivals.