Zealand Pharma shares tumble 12% after Boehringer obesity drug trial meets endpoints but disappoints analysts

A phase 3 trial of Boehringer Ingelheim's dual‑agonist drug survodutide in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes was presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Milan. The study met both co‑primary endpoints.

The Synchronize‑2 trial enrolled 755 adults who received weekly injections of either placebo or one of two doses of survodutide. At week 76, participants on the high dose lost an average of 13.1% of body weight, compared with 3.1% on placebo, and 79.3% achieved at least a 5% weight loss versus 32.7% for placebo.

Even though the efficacy targets were reached, the results were viewed as underwhelming by analysts. In early trading on the Copenhagen exchange, Zealand Pharma, Boehringer's partner, saw its shares drop about 12%.

A separate analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine used a different efficacy assessment, which may further influence market perception of the drug's potential.