Novo Nordisk stops Ozempic kidney trial after early signs of success

[October 11, 2023]  By Patrick Wingrove

(Reuters) -Novo Nordisk said on Tuesday it will stop a trial studying Ozempic to treat kidney failure in diabetes patients ahead of schedule because it was clear from an interim analysis that the treatment would succeed.

Novo said the trial would be halted almost a year early based on a recommendation from the independent data monitoring board overseeing the study. Independent monitors can recommend stopping a trial early if there is clear evidence that a drug was going to succeed or fail based on interim analyses.

Novo's U.S. listed shares rose 2.5% in extended trading.

The Danish drugmaker said the trial was testing whether the widely used diabetes drug, which contains the active ingredient semaglutide, could delay progression of chronic kidney disease and lower the risk of death from kidney and heart problems.

Semaglutide is also the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's powerful weight-loss drug Wegovy.

Barclays analyst Emily Field said in a note that the company's decision affirmed the view that GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic have "therapeutic benefits far beyond their original intended purpose."

Pens for the diabetes drug Ozempic sit on a production line to be packaged at Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk's site in Hillerod, Denmark, September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo

Since the start of the year, Novo has been riding a wave of demand for its highly effective semaglutide-based diabetes and weight-loss drugs that transformed the drugmaker into a $315 billion powerhouse.

The company briefly unseated luxury goods brand LVMH as Europe's most valuable listed company in September, and has seen its shares rise by around 17% since it announced in August that a large study had shown Wegovy had clear cardiovascular benefits.

Novo's success has also created an economic boom for Denmark, according to Danish economists, analysts, and executives at the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

(Reporting by Patrick Wingrove in New York and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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