Wedoany.com Report-Nov. 25, Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) announced on Monday that two large Phase III trials (EVOKE and EVOKE+) testing an oral formulation of semaglutide (Rybelsus) failed to slow cognitive and functional decline in patients with early Alzheimer's disease.

The studies involved 3,808 participants aged 55–85 with mild Alzheimer's and were discontinued after two years, without proceeding to the planned third year. Novo stated that while certain Alzheimer's biomarkers showed changes, the primary endpoints measuring disease progression were not met.

Novo CEO Mike Doustdar said in a video posted on LinkedIn: "Today we announced that our efforts to slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease have come to an end. We always knew that there would be a low likelihood of success, but it was important to determine if semaglutide could take one of the medicine's most challenging frontiers based on the indicative data points we had."

Erik Berg-Johnsen, portfolio manager at Novo shareholder Storebrand Asset Management, told: "The fact that the study was discontinued after two years, despite a planned third-year extension, suggests that semaglutide offers virtually no benefit in slowing Alzheimer's progression."

The Alzheimer's Association expressed disappointment but noted that research into GLP-1 class drugs would continue. It said in a statement: "Though this semaglutide pill did not help against Alzheimer's, the field will continue to investigate this class of drugs, as they may act differently."

Joanne Pike, president of the Alzheimer's Association, added: "While these results are not what we had hoped for, they will contribute to our understanding of this devastating and fatal disease."

Novo Nordisk shares closed down 5.8 percent following an intraday drop of more than 12 percent. Eli Lilly (LLY.N) shares rose 1 percent, while Biogen (BIIB.O) gained 3 percent.

Detailed topline results from the EVOKE and EVOKE+ trials will be presented on December 3 at an Alzheimer's scientific meeting, with full data scheduled for release in March 2026.

The outcome removes Alzheimer's as a potential near-term growth area for semaglutide and reinforces the continued difficulty of developing effective disease-modifying treatments for the condition, which affects more than 55 million people worldwide.