Novo says CagriSema tops Lilly rival in diabetes patients for weight loss

Sept 21 (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk said on Monday its next-generation experimental drug, CagriSema, delivered an estimated average weight loss of 12.4% in a late-stage trial in patients with diabetes, outperforming Eli Lilly’s rival drug.

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It has been seen as a successor to Novo’s weight loss drug, Wegovy, which faces patent expiries after 2030.

CagriSema is a weekly injection combining cagrilintide, which mimics pancreatic hormone amylin, and semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy. Novo said the drug also demonstrated non-inferior blood sugar reduction compared to Lilly’s tirzepatide.

In a head-to-head trial earlier this year, the drug had fallen short of Lilly’s Zepbound on weight loss, marking a setback for the Danish drugmaker.

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In the late-stage study, a 1 mg dose of Novo’s drug CagriSema was superior to Lilly’s tirzepatide at 5 mg for weight loss, the company said on Monday.

Lilly’s tirzepatide, which is the active ingredient in its diabetes drug Mounjaro and obesity drug Zepbound, showed weight loss of 9.1%.

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(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 6:46 AM.