An experimental Novo Nordisk anti-obesity treatment helped patients lose less than a quarter of their bodyweight in a new study, missing the company's expectations and sending its shares tumbling.

The highly anticipated study showed that a two-drug combination dubbed CagriSema helped people lose 22.7% of their weight on average after taking the weekly shot for more than a year, while those on a placebo lost 2.3%.

The outcome falls short of the 25% weight loss Novo Nordisk had expected and dents its chances of becoming the company's next blockbuster drug after Ozempic and Wegovy.

Shares fell as much as 29% on the news.

Write to Peter Loftus at [email protected] and Dominic Chopping at [email protected]