Novo Nordisk Found Something Ozempic Can’t Do

The idea that semaglutide could help treat diabetes, obesity, potentially addiction, and the most common cause of dementia appears too good to be true: An Ozempic-like drug failed in a highly anticipated Alzheimer’s trial, Novo Nordisk announced yesterday.

• Trial participants who took a pill version of the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy showed some improvement in Alzheimer’s biomarkers, but it did nothing to delay the disease’s progression, according to Novo Nordisk.
• The trial was inspired by earlier research suggesting that people with Type 2 diabetes who took semaglutide had lower rates of dementia than groups who took other diabetes drugs or placebos.

Rare L: Novo Nordisk previously referred to this trial as a long-shot “lottery ticket,” so investors weren’t counting on positive results. Still, it’s jarring for pharma bulls to see “semaglutide” and “fails” in the same sentence. Shares of the Danish drugmaker hit a four-year low yesterday, but regained some ground once the disappointment settled.

Hail Mary incomplete

This was one of Novo Nordisk’s last chances of 2025 to reinvigorate its stock, which has nearly halved this year, despite semaglutide’s popularity. The company ousted its eight-year CEO and installed a new one in August to turn its fortune around and claw back some of the market share it lost to Eli Lilly in recent years.

Like Skype vs. Zoom: Though Ozempic had a four-year head start over Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound, Eli Lilly recently overtook Novo Nordisk as the US leader in weight-loss medication. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk lowered its profit guidance several times this year, saying copycat semaglutide was partially to blame. A hole probably appeared in the drywall of Novo’s headquarters when Eli Lilly became the first pharmaceutical company to hit a $1 trillion market cap last week.

Another challenger emerges: Pfizer is also jockeying for space in weight-loss and outbid Novo Nordisk earlier this month for an obesity-drug startup called Metsera.—ML