COPENHAGEN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk

said on Monday an older oral version of its semaglutide drug

failed to meet its main goal in late-stage trials testing

whether the medicine can slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's

patients.

The data is key for Novo because Alzheimer's disease would

be a large new market for GLP-1 medicines like semaglutide after

blockbuster success in the treatment of obesity and diabetes.

Alzheimer's patients currently have limited treatment options.

The drug being tested is Novo's Rybelsus, a pill currently

approved only for treatment of type 2 diabetes. Both Rybelsus

and Novo's blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are based on the

same active ingredient, semaglutide, a GLP-1 medicine.

(Writing by Stine Jacobsen and Maggie Fick; Editing by Jan

Harvey, Terje Solsvik and Anna Ringstrom)