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Wed, May 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM PDT
STORY: Novo Nordisk beat first-quarter profit forecasts on Wednesday and raised its full-year outlook.It saw stronger than expected sales of its new obesity pill to help close the gap with rival Eli Lilly.The Danish drugmaker reported adjusted operating profit at $5.16 billion – well above forecasts.While adjusted group sales came in at $11 billion in the quarter, also above expectations.Novo has bet on its Wegovy weight-loss pill to compete with Lilly and offset pressure from intense price competition.Its time as the only oral obesity pill in the U.S. market closed in early April as Lilly won regulatory approval for rival drug Foundayo.Total prescriptions for the Wegovy pill reached about 1.3 million in the first quarter and hit more than 2 million since its January launch.CEO Mike Doustdar said this made it the strongest GLP-1 launch by volume in the U.S.Sales of the pill reached around $355 million, nearly double analyst forecasts.Looking ahead, Novo also slightly improved its full-year outlook.The firm forecast adjusted sales and operating profit declines of 4% to 12% at constant exchange rates.That was above a previous range of minus 5% to minus 13%.Wednesday’s results were an improvement on a difficult year for the firm, where its faced weaker than expected sales and disappointing trial results.Its shares are down around 40% over the last 12 months.But investors liked what they heard from the company Wednesday and shares jumped more than 7% in early trade.