The Novo Nordisk Wegovy Launch Stumble

The buzzards come home to roost:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/wegovy-maker-novos-profit-warning-triggers-70-billion-share-rout-2025-07-29/

Wegovy maker Novo's profit warning triggers $70 billion share rout
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Stine Jacobsen and Maggie Fick - July 29, 2025

Summary

*    Novo Nordisk appoints new CEO Doustdar amid sales concerns
*    Shares drop as much as 29.8% after profit warning
*    Doustdar faces challenge to revive US market performance

COPENHAGEN, July 29 (Reuters) - Investors wiped $70 billion off Novo Nordisk's market value on Tuesday after the maker of weight-loss drug Wegovy issued a profit warning and named a new CEO, as it battles rising competition in the obesity drug market.

Novo named Maziar Mike Doustdar as its new chief executive, turning to a veteran insider to revive sales and reassure investors rattled by fears the Danish drugmaker is losing ground in the obesity drug race it started.

Doustdar's appointment failed to stem a stock market rout sparked by Novo slashing its outlook for 2025 sales growth to between 8% and 14%, from between 13% and 21% previously. Its shares plunged nearly 30% before paring some losses to trade down over 20% by mid-afternoon. The shares are now down 44% this year.

"The magnitude of the guidance cut is a shocker," Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at mutual fund firm Union Investment, a Novo shareholder, told Reuters, adding that Novo's issues went deeper than "compounded" copycats to Wegovy.

Compounded drugs are custom-made medicines that are based on the same ingredients as branded drugs.

Novo has been hit by copycats of its GLP-1 drugs Wegovy for weight-loss and Ozempic for diabetes. U.S. law bars pharmacies from replicating approved drugs, but has allowed 'compounding' for patients needing custom doses or formulations.

The company said in a statement that it cut its 2025 sales outlook due to lower growth expectations in the second half in the U.S., both for Wegovy and Ozempic in the GLP-1 diabetes market.

The drugmaker, which became Europe's most valuable listed company following the launch of Wegovy in 2021, is now facing a reckoning as it looks to turn things around after the abrupt removal in May of CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen.

At its peak in June 2024, Novo was worth as much as $615 billion, but its shares have plunged on investor concerns about the company's experimental drug pipeline and its ability to navigate challenges in the U.S. market.

"The stock has gone from being a market darling to one of its biggest letdowns," said Angelo Meda, portfolio manager and head of equities at Banor SIM in Milan, which has a small Novo stake. "The biggest concern is the illegal channel siphoning away market share - something that's hard to quantify. Rebuilding trust will take time."

NEW CEO AN INSIDER

Doustdar, an Iranian-born, Austrian national, who grew up in the United States, joined Novo in 1992 and will take on the new role on August 7.

He currently serves as vice president for international operations, a role he took after leading the company's businesses first in the Middle East and then in Southeast Asia, Novo said.

"We need to increase the sense of urgency and execute differently," Doustdar told investors and analysts on a call. "The fact that my announcement comes right after the guidance update, just makes the mandate ahead even more clear."

Some analysts and investors had argued that Novo should select an American, or a person with extensive experience working in the United States as its next CEO. Novo has lost its first-mover advantage in the United States this year to U.S. rival Eli Lilly.

The new chief executive's most urgent challenge, according to investors and analysts, is to revive Novo's performance in the United States, the largest market by far for weight-loss drugs and where they are most profitable.

Novo launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy nearly two and a half years before Eli Lilly's Zepbound. But Zepbound prescriptions surpassed those of Wegovy this year by more than 100,000 a week.

In May, Novo said it expected many of the roughly one million U.S. patients using compounded GLP-1 drugs to switch to branded treatments after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on compounded copies of Wegovy took effect on May 22.

"Unfortunately, our latest market research indicates that has not happened," Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen said on a call with analysts on Tuesday. One million or more U.S. patients are still using compounded GLP-1s, he said.

Novo has stepped up its dialogue with the U.S. FDA to limit unlawful compounding of its drugs, the head of U.S. operations David Moore added on the call. "Compounding continues to be an issue that we have to address," Moore said.

Novo Nordisk is clearly under a lot of market pressure to right its ship:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/drugmaker-novo-nordisk-freezes-hiring-non-critical-jobs-2025-08-20/

Drugmaker Novo Nordisk freezes hiring for non-critical jobs
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Louise Rasmusse - August 20, 2025

COPENHAGEN, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk has implemented a global hiring freeze covering job roles that are not critical for its business, the company said on Wednesday.

The company is battling competition from copycat versions of its blockbuster Wegovy obesity drug this year and could face layoffs as it battles rising pressure from its main rival Eli Lilly.

"We currently have a hiring freeze in non-business critical areas," the company said in an emailed statement, without elaborating.

Investors in July wiped $70 billion off the drugmaker's market value, after Novo - which became Europe's most valuable listed company following the launch of Wegovy in 2021 - issued a profit warning and named a company veteran as its new CEO.

The new CEO, Mike Doustdar, who took the helm on August 7, told Danish broadcaster TV2 on his first day in office that he would look for cost savings throughout the company and also consider layoffs.

Ozempic Half Off!!!

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5460116-novo-nordisk-goodrx-selling-ozempic-at-half-cost-for-customers-paying-cash/

Novo Nordisk, GoodRx selling Ozempic at half cost for customers paying cash
by Joseph Choi - August 19, 2025

Novo Nordisk and GoodRx announced a partnership this week to sell products Ozempic and Wegovy at half their normal cost to patients who pay for the medications with cash.

Starting this week, customers will be able to buy a month’s supply of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide pen products for $499 through GoodRx. The list price for a monthly supply of a product like Ozempic is normally around $1,000 or more without insurance.

“Demand for GLP-1 medications is at an all-time high, but too many Americans still face barriers accessing them,” GoodRx CEO and President Wendy Barnes said in a statement.

“By partnering with Novo Nordisk, we’re taking a significant step forward in making these innovative brand-name treatments more accessible for millions of people who need them,” Barnes added. “It’s a powerful example of how the GoodRx platform can deliver savings at scale—bridging gaps in coverage and ensuring more people can get the care they deserve.”

This is the most recent in similar moves Novo Nordisk has made to make its popular diabetes and weight loss medication more widely available.

Earlier this year, the company announced a direct-to-patient program called NovoCare Pharmacy for uninsured and underinsured individuals who can pay $499 a month for Wegovy. Novo Nordisk also partnered with online telehealth companies like Ro and LifeMD to sell its pens at the same price point.

The telehealth company Hims & Hers was also originally included in the partnership, but Novo Nordisk ended it after accusing the company of illegally selling compounded versions of semaglutide. Hims & Hers maintains it is providing personalized, compounded products within regulatory guidelines.

“Improving access to effective FDA-approved treatment is central to our mission, and our collaboration with GoodRx allows us to reach those who seek savings and support from their trusted and established platform,” Dave Moore, executive vice president of U.S. operations of Novo Nordisk, said in a statement.

“This initiative enables us to meet GoodRx patients where they are with our authentic GLP-1 medicines in addition to supporting the launch of the new Ozempic self-pay offer for type 2 diabetes patients at an unprecedented price.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a prominent critic of high drug costs, called the announcement a “modest step forward.”

“Novo Nordisk’s move to cut the price of Ozempic to $499 for the uninsured is a modest step forward, but let’s not forget,” Sanders said on social platform X, “Ozempic costs just $59 in Germany while it costs less than $5 to make. The U.S. must no longer pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.”

Bernie is beginning to sound like President Trump!

An executive board slaughter at Novo Nordisk as the Novo Nordisk Foundation takes unchallenged control:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novo-nordisk-board-chair-helge-lund-will-not-stand-re-election-2025-10-21/

Novo Nordisk chair, board members to quit after dispute with top shareholder
By Stine Jacobsen, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Maggie Fick - October 21, 2025

Summary

*    Chairman, six board members to stand down next month
*    Former Novo CEO Sorensen to become chair for 2-3 years
*    Boardroom feud comes in midst of company turnaround drive

COPENHAGEN/LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The chairman of Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) and six other independent board members quit on Tuesday after a dispute with the company's controlling shareholder, as the drugmaker looks to revive sales of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy.

The boardroom feud brings fresh turmoil to a company that soared to become Europe's most valuable company last year on the huge success of Wegovy, only for its shares to plunge more than 40% this year as rival Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab grabbed market share.

The non-profit Novo Nordisk Foundation, which combines business ownership with philanthropy, criticised the outgoing board for being too slow to recognise market changes in the key U.S. market and to change management.

It said it would propose former Novo CEO and current head of the foundation Lars Rebien Sorensen to return as a temporary chairman for the next two or three years.

FOUNDATION SEEKS MORE INFLUENCE

Novo, which installed a new CEO in August to launch a turnaround plan, said chair Helge Lund and the other independent directors would step down at an extraordinary shareholder meeting on November 14.

The firm said in a statement that it had been impossible to reach a "common understanding" over the make-up of the board.

"The Board proposed a renewal focusing on addition of select, new competencies while also maintaining continuity, whereas the Board of the Foundation wanted a more extensive reconfiguration," it said.

The clash is the latest move by the foundation to increase control over Novo as it seeks to revive sales and restore investor confidence. It pushed for the early exit of CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen in May.

Novo's shares dipped to trade down around 1.7% after the news.

Jorgensen's replacement, CEO Mike Doustdar, has launched a restructuring drive, including 9,000 job cuts globally that has helped bolster the share price. The firm, however, still faces challenges in the key U.S. market against rival Eli Lilly.

"My guess is that the Novo Nordisk Foundation is still unhappy with the current setup of the company and that they want to have more influence," Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at mutual fund and Novo shareholder Union Investment, told Reuters.

"There was a dispute about the future composition of the board. Probably they had also different views about the future strategy of the company."

Manns added that the proposed new chairman would be "well qualified" and his experience could help the firm.

NOVO FACING A 'RAPIDLY CHANGING ENVIRONMENT'

In a statement, foundation chair Sorensen said that the challenging environment meant moving fast was important.

"Given the rapidly changing environment in which Novo Nordisk operates, we believe it is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to carry out a board renewal as soon as possible," he said.

Lukas Leu, a portfolio manager at Novo Nordisk shareholder ATG Healthcare, was still trying to digest the board shake-up.

"I don't really get it – why does the old CEO have to be the new Chairman? Don't like it."

Claus Henrik Johansen, CEO of Global Health Invest, a Danish healthcare investment fund, said the move marked something of a power play by the top shareholder.

"The Foundation now takes control for a period of time," he said. "I will follow intensely any signs of new initiatives to reinvigorate growth and innovation."

Reuters covers the latest issues in the Novo Nordisk management structure evolution:

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/novo-nordisks-new-chairman-has-carte-blanche-after-board-clear-out-2025-10-24/

Novo Nordisk's new chairman has 'carte blanche' after board clear-out
By Maggie Fick and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen - October 24, 2025

Summary

*    Novo Nordisk Foundation has 77% vote share in Novo
*    Foundation clashed with board over pace of change
*    Current board chair, independent members stepping down
*    Foundation chair set also to become Novo Nordisk chairman
*    Novo is in fierce obesity drug battle with Eli Lilly

LONDON/COPENHAGEN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - A boardroom shake-up at Novo Nordisk has handed unprecedented power to its top shareholder, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, rattling investors despite calls for stronger leadership at the drugmaker behind weight-loss treatment Wegovy.

Once Europe's most valuable firm thanks to its blockbuster obesity drug, Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) has stumbled in the last year. Slowing sales and intensifying competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab have eroded its market share and shaken investor confidence.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation, which holds more than three-quarters of the firm's voting shares, this week pushed out Novo's board chairman and independent members for not acting quickly enough to stem the decline in its key U.S. market.

Foundation chair Lars Rebien Sorensen - a former long-time Novo chief executive - will also become the company board chairman. The dual role is unprecedented in the firm's history.

Evan Seigerman, healthcare analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said the move showed the Foundation - which says on its website that it plays an "arm's length" role in the company - was in full control, given its 77% vote share.

"That's carte blanche to do whatever they want," he said.

DUAL CHAIRMAN ROLE RAISES GOVERNANCE CONCERNS

The Novo Nordisk Foundation, established in 1989 though with roots back to the 1950s, was set up to ensure financial and strategic stability of the Novo Group while advancing scientific research and humanitarian causes.

Foundation and incoming company chair Sorensen, who led the company from 2000-2016, has publicly backed CEO Mike Doustdar, a long-time company insider appointed in July.

"Doustdar has the steering wheel in his hands, but of course he will have a board chairman who will look upon him with very strict eyes," said Flemming Poulfelt, a professor emeritus of management and strategy at the Copenhagen Business School.

Sorensen has said he plans to serve as chairman for 2-3 years.

Mikael Bak, head of the Danish Shareholders' Association which he says has 17,000 members - a majority of them invested in Novo - said the foundation ownership model needed an arm's length approach and an independent board to support the CEO.

"What we need to make sure is that the Foundation and Novo Nordisk is not mixed up," he told Reuters, calling for an independent chairman to be installed within 18 months. "Our message is that this has to be short."

Sorensen's dual role is being seen as a test of the foundation-ownership model also used by other big Danish firms like Maersk and Carlsberg.

Rajesh Kumar, an analyst at HSBC, said the foundation was "not being unlike an activist investor", a break from the norm where foundations usually gave more leeway to management.

"What we have is an unprecedented concentration of power," said Thomas Bernt Henriksen, a business columnist at Danish newspaper Berlingske.

Both the Foundation and Novo Nordisk declined to comment.

'I'M GLAD THAT I'M NOT THE NEW CEO'

Novo's shares are down some 5% since the board shake-up, extending a decline that has seen the stock lose two-thirds of its value since a 2024 peak. Doustdar is now leading a sweeping restructuring aimed at refocusing the company and cutting costs.

Even before the board upheaval, he faced a daunting task. The company issued a profit warning on the day of his appointment, triggering a share fall of as much as 30%. Within months, he announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs, more than half of them in Denmark.

"As a new CEO trying to find your space, I don't know. I'm just glad that I'm not the new CEO," said a senior life sciences executive in Denmark, asking not to be named.

Doustdar's public comments have echoed the urgency voiced by Sorensen, who criticised the previous board for its sluggish response to competitive threats. Investors have responded positively to the restructuring plan, with Novo's shares up since the announcement.

TIGHTER GRIP MAY BE ACCEPTED IN THE SHORT TERM

Sorensen's tighter grip on management has been welcomed by some investors.

Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at Union Investment and Novo Nordisk shareholder, said the company has made several "strategic missteps" in recent years.

That included launching Wegovy without enough manufacturing capacity, losing its first-mover advantage and underestimating both the self-pay consumer segment and the risk from compounded copycat drugs market in the U.S.

"The board cannot be given a good review on its performance in overseeing Novo given the company's major strategic missteps in the U.S.," agreed Claus Henrik Johansen, CEO of Global Health Invest, a Danish healthcare investment fund.

Manns said a strong board could be a good thing, though Novo ideally would also have a strong CEO to match it.

"We have to watch how the relationship plays out," he added. "Governance is certainly an issue, but in the current situation shareholders might accept this deficit temporarily."

Novo Nordisk may recover from its many recent welts and bruises if this pill version of Wegovy actually works:

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/much-needed-win-novo-shares-jump-most-nearly-two-years-after-us-approval-wegovy-obesity

"Much-Needed Win": Novo Shares Jump Most In Nearly Two Years After US Approval Of Wegovy Obesity Pill
By Tyler Durden - December 23, 2025

Novo Nordisk shares in Europe jumped the most in nearly two years after the U.S. FDA approved the Wegovy pill, a once-daily 25 mg oral semaglutide, for long-term weight loss, weight maintenance, and reduction of major adverse cardiovascular events. The approval marks a much-needed win for the struggling Danish pharmaceutical company, which has been hit by market share losses to GLP-1 knockoffs.

"The Wegovy pill is the first oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist therapy approved for weight management," Novo wrote in a press release earlier on Tuesday.

Approval was based on the Oasis 4 trial, which showed patients taking the daily pill lost an average of 16.6% of body weight. The new pill will be available in the U.S. in early January and will be approved for long-term weight loss and weight maintenance.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan David Seigerman told clients the FDA approval gives the company a “much-needed win,” after the “recent challenges maintaining incretin market share dominance."

Seigerman said that Novo will “benefit from first-mover advantage, capturing patients with a preference for convenience and comfort provided by an oral dosing regimen." He noted that Eli Lilly’s rival pill, orforglipron, is "just around the corner."

Novo shares in Copenhagen jumped more than 7%, the largest intra-day gain since March 2024. This surge of optimism in the stock comes as market-share losses have pressured it down 48% year to date.

Wegovy Obesity Pill Will Be Cash Market, Self-Pay Item

A real test of healthcare freedom begins next month.  A departure from the marketing for most blockbuster pharmaceuticals, which are priced so high that only insurance companies can (Ha, Ha 😆 ) afford them:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novos-wegovy-pill-test-demand-consumers-with-cash-2025-12-23/

Novo's Wegovy pill to test demand from consumers with cash
By Maggie Fick and Patrick Wingrove - December 23, 2025

Summary

• FDA approves Novo's weight-loss pill version of Wegovy
• Novo to launch weight-loss pill via telehealth, online
• Cash-paying consumer channel is growing
• Launch strategy aims to revive Novo's slowing sales growth

LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) newly approved weight-loss pill version of Wegovy will be a test case for the fast-growing cash-paying consumer market, with plans for the first highly effective oral treatment to go straight to U.S. self-pay channels in early January.

The pill was granted U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval on Monday, a boost for Danish drugmaker Novo as it looks to claw back ground lost to U.S. rival Eli Lilly (LLY.N).

Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.
Novo Nordisk shares jumped nearly 10% on Tuesday. Lilly's shares were flat.

A key part of making it a success will be attracting cash-paying consumers, a stark shift from a business model where drug pricing is managed through health insurance plans, which has dominated for decades.

Under a deal with the Trump administration in November, Novo and Lilly agreed to sell starter doses of their weight‑loss pills, if approved, for $149 a month to U.S. Medicare and Medicaid patients and cash-paying customers who cannot get insurance coverage for the medications.

The Trump administration said its TrumpRx site, launching in January, will list oral and injectable weight-loss drugs at an average starting price of $350 a month.

"We have a self-pay offer from day one for U.S. patients," David Moore, Novo's executive vice president for U.S. operations, told Reuters ahead of the pill's approval.

Novo declined to reveal the expected cash prices for higher doses of its Wegovy pill, saying they will be made available at launch. Lilly has said higher doses of its obesity pill, if approved, would be capped at $399 a month for repeat cash purchasers.

Novo plans to launch the pill on multiple channels - including retail pharmacies such as CVS (CVS.N) and Walmart (WMT.O) online platforms like GoodRx (GDRX.O) and telehealth partners including Ro and WeightWatchers - so people can start treatment without waiting for insurance coverage, Moore said.

The share of U.S. Wegovy prescriptions - until now injectable versions - via self-pay channels has jumped from about 5% to double digits this year, Moore said.

Novo's pill will be sold in four doses of 1.5 milligrams, 4 mg, 9 mg and a higher long-term dose of 25 mg.

NEW STRATEGY FOR A DRUG LAUNCH

The focus on cash-paying consumers aims to revive Novo's slowing sales growth and turbocharge the next stage of expansion for the wider market. Novo has lost hundreds of billions of dollars in market capitalisation since mid-2024 amid rising competition.
"We've never launched this way before," Moore said.

In the past, "the mindset was more traditional – the product is available, you wait for insurers to cover it, and it's at the retail pharmacy," he said.

Novo is facing intensifying competition from Lilly's rival obesity drug Zepbound, known outside the U.S. as Mounjaro, and pressure from cheaper, unapproved compounded versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the Wegovy injection and pill.

Lilly is awaiting U.S. approval for its weight-loss pill, and has said a decision could come as early as March.

Novo hopes the once-daily oral dose of Wegovy could be a turning point in attracting people who were not motivated to start treatment with GLP‑1 injections.

WEIGHT-LOSS PILLS AN 'EASIER ON-RAMP'

Novo's U.S. medical head, Dr. Jason Brett, told Reuters the pill could broaden access by giving doctors more choice in what they prescribe, and help "meet patients where they are" via telehealth.

"We need ways to keep patients on these medicines long-term, and an effective oral preparation could help us do that," said Dr. W. Timothy Garvey, a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an obesity researcher who worked on clinical trials for the Wegovy pill.

Novo does not expect the pill to cannibalise its injectable Wegovy business. Analysts and industry executives also do not expect oral GLP-1s to fully replace injections, but say pills could capture 20% of the global obesity drug market by 2030.

"There are people who are needle-phobic, people who develop 'injection fatigue,' and people who don't see themselves as sick and feel an injectable is too serious," said Zachariah Reitano, chief executive of telehealth company Ro.

"For all of them, a pill is a much easier on-ramp."

Back to Square One for Novo Nordisk:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novo-nordisk-slump-wipes-out-last-wegovy-era-gains-after-trial-setback-2026-02-23/

Novo Nordisk's $475-billion rise and fall as Wegovy-era gains wiped out
By Jesus Calero in Gdansk and Bhanvi Satija in London, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Andrei Khalip
February 23, 2026

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) shares slumped by more than 16% on Monday, wiping away the remaining gains brought by its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, after the drugmaker said its next-generation obesity drug CagriSema underperformed Eli Lilly's (LLY.N) rival.

Novo, which in 2024 was worth more than $650 billion, has since shed around $475 billion, with the shares back at levels last seen before Wegovy transformed it into Europe's most valuable drugmaker.

Novo's shares fell to their lowest level since June 2021, when Wegovy was first launched, driving a long sales and share price boom that even helped propel Denmark's wider economy.

Novo shares were among the biggest decliners in Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index (.STOXX). Meanwhile, shares of Eli Lilly rose about 4% in U.S. morning trade.

UPHILL BATTLE TO WIN BACK MARKET SHARE

J.P. Morgan analysts said the trial miss was a significant setback that could curb demand for CagriSema, temper long-term sales hopes and leave Novo struggling to win back share in the fast-growing obesity treatment market.

The setback adds to investor worries about intensifying competition in obesity treatments, where demand is increasingly driven by drugs offering the greatest weight-loss results.

Shares of Novo's Danish peer Zealand declined 7%, but analysts brushed off broader concerns about its own weight-loss drug, similarly targeting the amylin hormone.

Novo shares peaked in 2024 when it was leading the obesity drug race.

Several explanatory graphics at the hyperlink, above.