Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jul 31
Novo Nordisk Loses $30.7 Billion After Ziltivekimab Fails Late-Stage Trial
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jul 31

Novo Nordisk Loses $30.7 Billion After Ziltivekimab Fails Late-Stage Trial

3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 31

Summary

  • $30.7 billion was wiped from Novo Nordisk’s market value on Friday as its shares fell 9.3% to about $46.70 after the company said ziltivekimab missed its main cardiovascular study goals.
  • The late-stage trial failed to show the drug reduced major adverse cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke, and Novo did not disclose any degree of risk reduction.
  • Jeffries said ziltivekimab likely needed at least a 20% risk reduction and called the outcome strategically negative, arguing it erased a growth opportunity beyond Ozempic and Wegovy worth more than $10 billion a year.
  • The setback deepens investor concern over Novo’s dependence on its blockbuster weight-loss franchise, even as it pushes into GLP-1 pills and plans broader Wegovy tablet launches after initial rollouts in the UAE and UK.

Insights

With Novo Nordisk's obesity empire booming, does one failed heart drug actually threaten their future, or is Wall Street panicking?
Two more trials for this controversial drug are ongoing; could a miraculous comeback in 2027 shock the pharmaceutical world?
If a drug destroys disease biomarkers but patients still suffer heart attacks, is modern medicine measuring the wrong things entirely?