TLDRNovo Nordisk stock fell 15% after CagriSema failed to prove non-inferiority to Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide in an 84-week trial.CagriSema delivered 23% weight loss vs. 25.5% for tirzepatide — missing its primary endpoint.The stock hit its lowest level since June 2021, down nearly 50% over the past year.Novo’s CEO remains confident in CagriSema, citing its potential as the first GLP-1/amylin combo drug on the market.Eli Lilly stock rose 3.1% in premarket trading on the news.Novo Nordisk took another hit on Monday. The stock fell as much as 15% after the company revealed its next-generation weight loss drug, CagriSema, failed to prove it was just as good as Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide in a head-to-head trial.Novo Nordisk A/S, NVOThe result sent NVO to its lowest price since June 2021.In the late-stage trial, patients on CagriSema lost 23% of their body weight over 84 weeks. Those on tirzepatide — the active ingredient in Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound — lost 25.5%.That gap meant CagriSema missed its primary endpoint: showing non-inferiority to tirzepatide.The trial was open-label, meaning participants knew which drug they were taking. Novo’s Chief Scientific Officer Martin Holst Lange said this design can introduce bias toward a well-known product when tested against an experimental one.Lange said he was “surprised” by tirzepatide’s 25.5% result, pointing out that Lilly’s own studies have shown the drug producing around 20.2% weight loss over 72 weeks.CEO Stays OptimisticDespite the miss, CEO Mike Doustdar pushed back on the negativity. “We strongly believe that CagriSema has, right now, the best weight efficacy than any product currently in the market,” he said.Novo filed CagriSema with the FDA late last year, and a decision is expected by late 2026. Doustdar said he expects it to reach the market early next year with the best weight-loss label available.The company is also exploring additional trials, including higher-dose combinations, to maximize the drug’s potential.CagriSema combines semaglutide — the ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy — with cagrilintide, an experimental hormone that affects appetite. Novo has positioned it as the first GLP-1/amylin combination treatment for obesity.A Rough Run for NovoThis is not an isolated setback. When Novo first released CagriSema late-stage data in December 2024, the stock dropped 21% and wiped out nearly $100 billion in market value.Over the past year, NVO has lost close to 50% of its value.Earlier this month, Novo forecast a sales and profit decline of between 5% and 13% for 2026. The company is dealing with rising competition, lower U.S. prices, and upcoming patent expirations on Wegovy and Ozempic in some markets.Jefferies analyst Michael Leuchten noted that CagriSema’s commercial positioning is “increasingly unclear” following Monday’s results. He estimated the drug could account for 15% to 25% of Novo’s revenue by 2030 and said the situation highlights “the pressing need for M&A,” forecasting Novo could spend up to $35 billion on acquisitions this year.Meanwhile, Eli Lilly’s stock rose 3.1% in premarket trading Monday.Novo’s Copenhagen-listed stock was last seen down 14% at 259 Danish kroner.The post Novo Nordisk (NVO) Stock Drops 15% After CagriSema Fails to Beat Eli Lilly’s Zepbound appeared first on Blockonomi.