Skye’s obesity drug stumbles alone but shines in combo with Wegovy

Skye Bioscience (Nasdaq: SKYE) reported to-pline data from a mid-stage trial showing that its obesity drug nimacimab failed to cut weight on its own but added meaningful benefit when paired with Novo Nordisk’s (NOV: N) Wegovy (semaglutide). Shares in the US biotech slumped more than 60% on the update.

In the 26-week Phase IIa CBeyond study, nimacimab at 200 mg did not meet its primary goal versus placebo, with weight loss averaging about 1.5% compared to 0.3% for placebo. Skye attributed the weak result to lower than expected drug exposure at the tested dose and signaled plans to explore higher dosing.

By contrast, the combination of nimacimab with Wegovy helped patients lose 13.2% of body weight, compared with 10.25% on Wegovy alone. No increase in gastrointestinal or neuropsychiatric side effects was observed, and Skye said the data warrant further evaluation of the pairing in larger trials.