Novo shares plunge on panel liraglutide tie

Danish diabetes specialist Novo Nordisk's shares fell by the largest amount in seven years in Copenhagen trading after a US Food and Drug  Administration panel became deadlocked over Victoza (liraglutide), a  once-daily human GLP-1 analog. Shares fell by as much as 13% on the day  of the news, April 2.

The Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee was tied six  to six, with one abstention, after an increased risk of thyroid cancer  was seen in animal studies of the diabetes candidate.

A majority of Advisory Committee members agreed that appropriate  evidence of cardiovascular safety had been provided to rule out excess  cardiovascular risk and risk of papillary thyroid cancer, but the panel  was split on the question of whether the available data on C-cell tumors  permitted approvability.