Topline
Shares of Novo Nordisk slumped to their lowest level since July 2021 on Monday morning after the drugmaker announced that its long-shot trial testing the impact of its Ozempic on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease failed to meet its key goal.
Key Facts
Novo Nordisk’s Copenhagen shares fell by more than 12%, before recovering slightly to Kr 273.35 ($42.25), down around 10.3%.
In a press release, the company said its pair of large trials covering 3,808 adults examining the impact of semaglutide—the active ingredient in the company’s weight-loss drug Ozempic—on the progression of Alzheimer’s failed to meet their primary goal.
The company said a cognitive assessment showed that patients who received semaglutide did not experience any significant slowing in disease progression compared with placebo.
The drug failed to slow the neurodegenerative disease, showing “improvement of Alzheimer’s disease-related biomarkers in both trials.”
The trial covered patients aged between 55 and 85 “suffering from mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.”
The drug maker will discontinue a planned one-year extension of the studies.
Big Number
57.2%. That’s how much the company’s stock has fallen since the start of 2025. The stock price is now more than 72% below its June 2024 peak, when it breached the Kr 1,000 ($154.5) mark.
