Investing.com -- Shares of Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO ) tumbled 6% today, following the announcement of results from its REDEFINE 2 phase 3 trial. Despite meeting its primary endpoint, showing statistically significant weight loss with its CagriSema treatment compared to placebo, the market reacted negatively.

The trial, which included 1,206 participants with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, demonstrated that 89.7% of patients on CagriSema achieved a weight loss of 5% or more after 68 weeks, compared to just 30.3% on placebo. However, under the flexible protocol of the trial, only 61.9% of patients were on the highest dose by the end, which may have influenced the results.

CagriSema, which is a combination of cagrilintide and semaglutide, showed a superior weight loss of 15.7% in patients who adhered to treatment, as opposed to 3.1% with placebo. When considering all trial participants, weight loss was 13.7% for those on CagriSema compared to 3.4% for placebo.

The safety profile of CagriSema was consistent with the GLP-1 receptor agonist class, with the most common adverse events being gastrointestinal issues that were mostly mild to moderate and decreased over time.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Murphy commented on the stock movement, stating, "Though it may appear that the insulin sensitizing/sparing effects of the amylin component of CagriSema provides little differentiation in this population, the data are subject to the same caveats as the Redefine-1 trial (in obese patients), namely that patients are permitted to dose down, with only 62% of patients ending on the highest dose."

Novo Nordisk plans to seek the first regulatory approval for CagriSema in the first quarter of 2026, with detailed results from the REDEFINE trials expected to be presented at a scientific conference in 2025. Despite the successful trial outcomes, investor concerns over the trial’s flexible dosing protocol and comparison to competing treatments may be contributing to the share price decline.

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