09:38 AM EST, 12/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) US-listed shares tumbled as regular trading began on Friday after clinical trial results of the Danish pharmaceutical giant's investigative weight loss drug fell short of its own expectations.

Patients treated with the therapeutic candidate, called CagriSema, experienced a weight loss of 22.7% after 68 weeks, based on results from a phase 3 study, the company said Friday. However, the print was below the drugmaker's 25% weight-loss target discussed during its third-quarter earnings call in November.

The company's shares on the New York Stock Exchange plunged 20% in morning trade.

About 40% of patients lost 25% or more of their body weight after 68 weeks, Novo said Friday. The study covered 3,417 patients.

CagriSema is a fixed-dose combination of semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in Novo's Wegovy obesity drug, and cagrilintide, an amylin analog.

The trial achieved its primary endpoint with CagriSema demonstrating "a statistically significant and superior weight loss" versus placebo, the company said.

The study showed the product appeared to have a safe and well-tolerated profile, with the most common adverse event being gastrointestinal.

"We are encouraged by the weight loss profile of CagriSema demonstrating superiority over both semaglutide and cagrilintide in monotherapy in the Redefine 1 trial," Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for development at Novo Nordisk ( NVO ), said in the Friday statement. "With the insights obtained from the Redefine 1 trial, we plan to further explore the additional weight loss potential of CagriSema."

The company aims to release the results of a second phase 3 trial of the drug in adults with type 2 diabetes and either obesity or overweight during the first half of next year.