ZEUS rarely intervenes to save stricken mortals; this looks an unlikely exception

Research evidence excerpt

ZEUS rarely intervenes to save stricken mortals; this looks an unlikely exception

Deutsche Bank

Research

Rating Company Date

Hold Novo Nordisk 18 June 2026

Breaking News

Europe

Denmark

Reuters Bloomberg Exchange Ticker Price at 18 Jun 2026 (DKK) 280.10

NOVOb.CO NOVOB DC CPH NOVOb

Price Target (DKK) 290.00

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals ADR ISIN 52-week range (DKK) 488.40228.50-

NVO US6701002056

ZEUS rarely intervenes to save stricken

Valuation & Risks mortals; this looks an unlikely exception

Emmanuel Papadakis, Ph.D., CFA

Summary takes Research Analyst

In response to a high volume of incoming on the pending ZEUS trial for Novo we +44-20-754-18522

take the opportunity to briefly provide expectations into the event in terms of both

Niall Alexander

outcome and share price reaction, along with a brief primer/context on the Research Analyst

therapeutic approach. Bottom-line: expectations are low (implicitly and explicitly – +44-20-754-12185

see below); we also expect the trial to miss, but with low confidence on that

Shashindra Seresinhe

outcome – though should the trial even hit, we would deem it very unlikely to do so

Research Associate

with a magnitude that would render it thesis-changing for Novo: as things stand

the company has a c.$30bn patent cliff in 2031 and we see few scenarios in which

zilte helps meaningfully assuage this (i.e. perhaps except in the blue-sky Supun Ukwatta

scenario, this could perhaps be a 'sell the news' event either way). Research Associate

Key details and our views Henrietta Boeg

n We remind ZEUS is enrolling CVD/ASCVD patients (essentially a

secondary prevention population) with CKD and hsCRP >2mg/L, i.e. a +44-20-754-10119

pretty high-risk population (the design paper assumes a 6.5% annual Kate Farrelly