Fresenius Shares Slump After Novo Nordisk Kidney Disease Trial Shows Efficacy

   By Mauro Orru

Shares of Germany's Fresenius and its dialysis-care business Fresenius Medical Care plunged Wednesday after Novo Nordisk said it would stop a trial to treat kidney failure in diabetes patients as it showed early signs of success, a development that could lower the number of dialysis patients.

At 0920 GMT, Fresenius Medical Care shares traded 19% lower at EUR32.10. Shares of Fresenius, which holds about 32% of Fresenius Medical Care, traded 12% lower at EUR24.43.

The Danish pharmaceutical giant said late Tuesday that it had decided to stop the trial early following a recommendation from an independent data monitoring committee due to early signs of efficacy. The trial started in 2019 to study the progression of kidney impairment and the risk of renal and cardiovascular mortality in people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Novo Nordisk makes blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Ozempic was originally developed to treat diabetes, but its use for weight loss has rapidly grown as both drugs share the same active ingredient, semaglutide, which works by mimicking a gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1.

Citi analysts said that the early end of the trial would weigh on Fresenius and Fresenius Medical Care.

"We see kidney disease as one of the areas where GLP1s could potentially negatively impact the size of the relevant patient population over time," they wrote in a note to clients. "The early stopping of the FLOW trial indeed suggests such an impact."

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 11, 2023 05:38 ET (09:38 GMT)

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