Novo Nordisk shares slide 10% after Alzheimer’s trial failure

Novo Nordisk’s stock tumbled nearly 10% on Monday after its highly anticipated Alzheimer’s trial delivered disappointing results, deepening investor concerns about the drugmaker’s future plans.

The decline is the Danish pharma giant’s lowest level since mid-2021. It recovered slightly to close almost 6% lower.

The company’s stock has nearly halved this year.

The trial 
Novo tested semaglutide, the same ingredient that powers blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, to check whether it could slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients. 

While the treatment improved certain brain health biomarkers, it failed to slow disease progression by the targeted 20%, leaving the trial short of its main goal.

Analysts had long warned that the trial was a risky bet, and Novo itself admitted the effort felt like a lottery ticket.

Still, the company said it pursued the study because of the enormous unmet need in Alzheimer’s treatment.

The news comes at a tough moment for Novo, which has already cut its financial outlook several times this year and faces rising competition in the US market.

Meanwhile, rivals Eli Lilly and Biogen, whose Alzheimer’s drugs can slow the disease but come with serious side effects, saw their shares edge higher, highlighting Novo’s uphill battle in a fiercely competitive field.

Just last week, Lilly became the first healthcare company to cross the $1 trillion market cap threshold.