Two major obesity drug developers saw their stocks move sharply in opposite directions on Monday after releasing key trial data. Zealand Pharma lost roughly 25% of its market value after its Phase III survodutide trial showed high patient discontinuation rates, while Eli Lilly climbed more than 4% on positive retatrutide results for sleep apnea and knee pain.
Zealand’s survodutide, partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim, achieved up to 16.6% weight loss in the 76-week SYNCHRONIZE-1 trial, but 23–25% of patients stopped treatment due to gastrointestinal side effects, versus just 5.4% on placebo. Goldman Sachs warned the low tolerability would likely limit market uptake, though Wolfe Research maintained an outperform rating with a DKK750 price target — implying over 129% upside from pre-drop levels. Zealand remains eligible for high single- to low double-digit royalties plus €315 million in milestone payments.
Eli Lilly, meanwhile, presented Phase III data showing its next-gen retatrutide reduced sleep apnea severity by 60.6% and knee osteoarthritis pain by up to 73.1% in adults with obesity. The drug targets GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors, and had previously demonstrated 28% body weight reduction. Lilly also released analysis of its oral drug Foundayo showing consistent weight loss across all menopause stages in 1,500 women. Novo Nordisk reported Wegovy pill prescriptions surpassed 3 million, yet its stock fell 3%, catching up from Friday’s closed Danish market. Over the past year, Eli Lilly shares are up 47%, while Novo Nordisk has declined over 40%.
