Zealand Pharma Shares Plunge 25% After Safety Data Raises Concerns Over Experimental Weight Loss Drug

Zealand Pharma shares plummeted 26% on June 8, 2026, after safety data showed 19% of patients in its survodutide obesity drug study dropped out due to gastrointestinal events versus 2.9% on placebo, with over 40% reporting vomiting. The company has licensed survodutide to Boehringer Ingelheim. Zealand Pharma stock is down nearly 50% year-to-date following earlier disappointment with its petrelintide trial.

Survodutide safety concerns

• ▪Zealand Pharma has licensed survodutide to privately-held Boehringer Ingelheim.
• ▪More than 40% of patients in the survodutide study reported vomiting.
• ▪Survodutide topline data announced in April 2026 showed average weight loss of up to 16.6% versus 3.2% with placebo.
• ▪Zealand Pharma CEO Adam Steensberg told CNBC in March 2026 that Zealand Pharma was extremely certain there would be a shift in the industry towards tolerability.
• ▪Survodutide was tested in adults living with obesity or overweight adults without type 2 diabetes over 76 weeks.
• ▪19% of patients in the survodutide late-stage study dropped out due to gastrointestinal events, compared to 2.9% on placebo.

Zealand Pharma stock decline

• ▪Zealand Pharma shares plummeted as much as 26% on June 8, 2026.
• ▪Zealand Pharma stock has dropped nearly 50% year-to-date as of June 8, 2026.
• ▪Zealand Pharma stock suffered its worst day on record approximately three months before June 8, 2026, when a trial of petrelintide disappointed investors with lower-than-expected weight loss statistics.
• ▪Zealand Pharma shares were down 25% on June 8, 2026, at the bottom of the pan-European Stoxx 600 index.

Petrelintide trial results

• ▪Zealand Pharma is developing petrelintide together with Roche.
• ▪Further data on petrelintide was disclosed on June 5, 2026.

Weight loss drug market competition

• ▪Amgen and AstraZeneca are testing their own anti-obesity drugs.
• ▪Zealand Pharma is partnering with Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim on anti-obesity drugs.
• ▪Eli Lilly sells tirzepatide as Zepbound and Mounjaro.
• ▪Novo Nordisk sells semaglutide under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic.

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