Novo Nordisk slumps as it cuts sales forecast, names new CEO
Novo Nordisk's new chief executive, Mike Doustdar, will replace Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen on 7th August.
Shares in Novo Nordisk were trading down more than 20% today as it unexpectedly slashed its full-year sales guidance, citing a hit on demand for its GLP-1-based therapies for diabetes and obesity in the US.
The task of steadying the ship will now fall to Maziar Mike Doustdar, who has been appointed president and chief executive of the Danish pharma group and will take the helm on 7th August, after current CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen stands down.
The company has looked internally for its new leader, as Doustdar is currently serving as its head of international operations. Jørgensen is stepping down by "mutual agreement" with Novo Nordisk's board in the wake of steep falls in its share price and pressure from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has a controlling interest in the drugmaker.
In an investor update, Novo Nordisk said it is now modelling sales growth of 2025 of between 8% and 14%, down from 13% to 21% just a couple of months ago, as semaglutide-based diabetes therapy Ozempic and Wegovy for obesity have come under pressure.
"The lowered sales outlook for 2025 is driven by lower growth expectations for the second half of 2025," said the group in a statement.
"This is related to lower growth expectations for Wegovy in the US obesity market, lower growth expectations for Ozempic in the US GLP-1 diabetes market, as well as lower-than-expected penetration for Wegovy in select [international] markets."
In the US, the pressure on Wegovy has been attributed to "the persistent use of compounded GLP-1s, slower-than-expected market expansion, and competition" that has not been offset by a recent telehealth blitz for the drug.
Compounding of semaglutide should have come to a halt in the US since the drug was removed from the FDA list of medicines in short supply, but Novo Nordisk said that "unsafe and unlawful mass compounding has continued" and "multiple entities continue to market and sell compounded GLP-1s under the false guise of 'personalisation'."
Meanwhile, Wegovy is facing tough competition from Eli Lilly's weight-loss therapy Zepbound (tirzepatide), which outperformed Wegovy in the head-to-head SURMOUNT-5 trial. Recently published 72-week data from the study showed an overall weight reduction of 20.2% with Zepbound, compared to 13.7% with Wegovy.
Novo Nordisk said it was looking to new commercial initiatives and potential approvals for Wegovy in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in the latter half of this year to help offset those pressures.
Full details of the first-half financial performance will have to wait until Novo Nordisk's interim results presentation on 6th August, but the company said sales rose 18% while operating profit was up 29%.
CEO-elect Doustdar, who has been with Novo Nordisk since 1992, said: "I come to this role with a sense of urgency, a laser focus on high performance, and a fierce determination for Novo Nordisk to aim higher than it's ever done, and to deliver to many more patients the innovation they need."
