Zealand Pharma shares fall after Phase 3 trial results for weight loss drug survodutide

Zealand Pharma shares fall after Phase 3 trial results for weight loss drug survodutide

Zealand Pharma shares declined on Oct. 1 after its Boehringer Ingelheim-partnered glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist, survodutide, delivered modest weight loss results in a second Phase 3 trial.

Boehringer Ingelheim announced that the highest end of weight loss reached 13.1% at 76 weeks based on efficacy estimand in the SYNCHRONIZE-2 Phase 3 trial. However, The New England Journal of Medicine reported up to 9.8% weight reduction for participants taking the highest dose of six milligrams. Efficacy estimand refers to the estimated treatment effect assuming patients remained on treatment for the study's duration, while NEJM’s regimen estimand measures efficacy regardless of discontinuations or use of other drugs.

Patients given a lower dose of 3.6 mg saw an average baseline weight reduction of 8.2%, compared to a placebo group that achieved a 3.9% decrease—a result considered statistically significant by Boehringer and Zealand Pharma. The study met its co-primary endpoints: percentage change in body weight from baseline and proportion of participants losing at least five percent; nearly four out ...