{"id":141417,"date":"2026-08-06T13:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T13:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/141417\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T13:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T13:35:13","slug":"weight-loss-drug-wegovy-made-novo-nordisk-europes-most-valuable-company-finding-its-next-blockbuster-drug-is-proving-difficult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/141417\/","title":{"rendered":"Weight loss drug\u00a0Wegovy made Novo Nordisk Europe\u2019s most valuable company\u2014finding its next blockbuster drug is proving difficult\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2023, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk<\/a> briefly surpassed the luxury conglomerate LVMH to become Europe\u2019s most valuable company by market capitalization.\u00a0Its share price was propelled upwards by soaring sales of its breakthrough weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After pioneering GLP-1 treatments to combat obesity, Novo Nordisk has struggled to build on this success. Eli Lilly<\/a>, its U.S. rival and the maker of Mounjaro, has eaten into Novo Nordisk\u2019s market share and expects to launch its own weight-loss pill in Europe and the U.K.\u00a0in\u00a0early 2027. Since 2024, Eli Lilly\u2019s share price has almost doubled, while Novo Nordisk\u2019s has dropped by 70%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Karsten Munk, CFO at Novo Nordisk, admits it has been a \u201crocky road\u201d for the business.\u00a0In September 2025, it announced that it would be cutting 9,000 jobs as it aimed to reduce costs by\u00a0$1.2 billion.\u00a0Overall\u00a0headcount\u00a0is now 12,000 lower than a year ago.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe managed our resources and our cost base in a very disciplined manner because we were in a period of low growth,\u201d he says,\u00a0adding\u00a0that the business has no plans to pursue a second round of company-wide redundancies.\u00a0\u201cWe really need to ensure we invest in the growth assets we have, such as the Wegovy pill, and continue to invest significantly in R&D so we have future winners and growth drivers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

One drug Novo Nordisk had pinned its\u00a0hopes on\u00a0as a future growth driver was\u00a0ziltivekimab\u2014a cardiovascular drug. Analysts at Goldman Sachs\u00a0highlighted that the drug\u00a0could allow\u00a0Novo Nordisk to expand into a new market and reduce its reliance on its weight-loss franchise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to ensure we invest in the growth assets we have, such as the Wegovy pill, and continue to invest significantly in R&D so we have future winners and growth drivers\u201d<\/p>\n

Karsten Munk, CFO at Novo Nordisk<\/p>\n

However, its phase three trials proved unsuccessful last week after it\u00a0failed to\u00a0prevent heart attacks, strokes, or cardiovascular deaths. Novo Nordisk\u2019s share price dropped 10% on the news. \u201cHaving a phase three product\u00a0fail\u00a0is never fun,\u201d Munk says.\u00a0\u201cBut\u00a0it\u2019s part of our industry because we take chances and we take risks because we are up against science and biology, and there are no guarantees in that space.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more: Sir Martin Sorrell has identified the key AI skill for the future: \u2018People who share will be the new kings and queens\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The trial setback has done little to allay investor concerns over Novo Nordisk\u2019s long-term growth prospects and its potential to produce another blockbuster drug. Novo Nordisk\u2019s share price dropped\u00a0almost 6%\u00a0following the release of\u00a0its first-half financial results on Tuesday (August 4).\u00a0The company raised its\u00a0full-year outlook and reported\u00a0a 7% increase in adjusted sales\u00a0to DKK 78.5 billion ($12.1 billion).\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than 90% of Novo Nordisk\u2019s sales are generated by its obesity and diabetes drugs but Munk has confidence that the obesity market still has room for growth. Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar revealed it will launch its Wegovy pill in Germany \u201csoon\u201d,\u00a0with more European countries likely to\u00a0follow after\u00a0EU approval was secured in July. \u201cIt is a huge market that is yet to be fully tapped into,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at some 80% volume growth at a global scale, so it [the weight-loss drug market] is growing at a very rapid pace.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

JPMorgan Global Research forecasts that the market for GLP-1s and other weight loss drugs\u00a0will reach\u00a0$200 billion\u00a0by 2030<\/a>. Other Wall Street analysts have been more reserved in their estimates.\u00a0Jefferies predicts the market will peak at\u00a0$80 billion.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A potential mega-merger between U.K. drugmaker AstraZeneca<\/a> and U.S. competitor Bristol Myers Squibb could also disrupt the pharmaceutical industry. The\u00a0FT\u00a0reported earlier this week<\/a>\u00a0that discussions\u00a0to merge the two companies had taken place. The deal would make the pairing the fourth-largest drugmaker in the world, with a combined valuation of\u00a0nearly\u00a0$400 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although Munk is reluctant to comment on speculation, he adds that any mega deal would\u00a0probably\u00a0be\u00a0followed by cost cutting as the companies explore synergies and streamline functions. Securing antitrust clearance could also create\u00a0a stumbling block.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Strategic acquisitions are also a core part of Novo Nordisk\u2019s own growth strategy. Monk confirms that the business is exploring bolt-on acquisitions to help strengthen its R&D pipeline. \u201cWe continue to invest significantly in our own R&D, but you also get good ideas\u00a0in\u00a0other geographies and other companies,\u201d he says. \u201cWe are always on the lookout for assets that would fit into our R&D pipeline, provided that it has the right scientific merits and a rational financial profile.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Novo Nordisk\u2019s expansion into cardiovascular disease treatments initially came via\u00a0the\u00a0acquisition of\u00a0the\u00a0AstraZeneca spin-off,\u00a0Corvidia,\u00a0in 2020. The acquisition\u00a0cost\u00a0$725 million up front, with\u00a0additional\u00a0payments potentially taking the deal to\u00a0$2.1 billion. The phase three trial, which followed 6,300 people,\u00a0was\u00a0a significant addition to the development costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Munk admits the pursuit of an effective cardiovascular drug has been a \u201ccostly venture\u201d,\u00a0he says it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0change Novo Nordisk\u2019s commitment to\u00a0establishing\u00a0a presence in this market. \u201cWe believe strategically it\u2019s a natural adjacency and in society there\u2019s a huge unmet need, so we\u2019re committed to that space,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the setbacks and growing U.S competition, Munk\u00a0remains\u00a0confident that Novo Nordisk has the global infrastructure, manufacturing footprint, and R&D pipeline, to overcome any recent adversity. He says: \u201cThe important part for us is that\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0tracking ahead of plan and\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0getting into a good growth mode.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0sure the capital markets will eventually reward our performance in a fair way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2023, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk briefly surpassed the luxury conglomerate LVMH to become Europe\u2019s most valuable company…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[271],"tags":[67719,691,67720,272,10520],"class_list":["post-141417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-novo-nordisk","tag-chief-financial-officer-cfo","tag-drugs","tag-londonwires","tag-novo-nordisk","tag-u-k"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/117048831124812577","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}