Sales of Novo Nordisk’s injectable glucosuria narcotics including Ozempic person slowed sharply amid fierce title and nan threat of US tariffs, prompting it to trim costs and sharpen its commercialized focus.
The Danish drugmaker, whose booming income of GLP-1 glucosuria and obesity narcotics successful caller years had turned it into Europe’s astir valuable company, has mislaid $95bn (£71.5bn) successful marketplace worth since cutting its full-year income forecast past week.
On Wednesday, Novo Nordisk said income of medications specified arsenic Ozempic – which mimic nan GLP-1 gut hormone that regulates humor sweetener levels and appetite – grew by 8% successful nan first half of nan year, down from 21% past year. Sales of obesity narcotics including Wegovy accrued by 56%, taking full income 16% higher to 155bn Danish kroner (£18bn). Profit earlier taxation climbed by 24% to 70.8bn kroner.
The institution has mislaid marketplace stock to nan US rival Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, which studies person shown to beryllium much effective, arsenic good arsenic cheaper versions made by generic drugmakers. It has besides been deed by “compounding” successful nan US, wherever pharmacies dress up medications from ingredients, moreover though nan US regulator declared an extremity to nan believe recently.
Novo Nordisk’s outgoing main executive, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who will manus complete to Maziar Mike Doustdar connected Thursday, said nan institution was taking measures to “sharpen our commercialized execution further, and guarantee efficiencies successful our costs guidelines while continuing to put successful early growth”.
The institution is now expecting income maturation of betwixt 8% and 14% astatine changeless speech rates successful 2025, down sharply from its erstwhile estimate of 13% to 21%.
Jørgensen added: “With much than 1 cardinal group surviving pinch obesity globally, including much than 100 cardinal surviving successful nan US, and only a fewer cardinal connected treatment, I americium assured that nether Mike Doustdar’s leadership, Novo Nordisk will maximise nan important maturation opportunities, supported by a beardown merchandise portfolio and early pipeline.”
The institution besides announced that it had ditched respective weight-loss narcotics successful development, including 1 that has conscionable completed an intermediate (phase II) objective study, “due to portfolio considerations”.
Novo Nordisk faces a people action suit successful nan US from investors, who declare that it misled them pinch optimistic maturation forecasts successful nan lucrative weight nonaccomplishment market.
The UBS expert Matthew Weston said: “We expect GLP-1 compounders to stay successful nan US, which limits cash-pay uptake and leaves an uncertain outlook for US Wegovy.
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“President Trump’s connection to reimburse GLP-1 obesity successful Medicare could adhd important measurement uplift, but most-favoured-nation demands to connection US rate income astatine European prices could importantly trim value.”
Derren Nathan, nan caput of equity investigation astatine Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Tariffs and supplier pricing argumentation are different threat Mike Doustdar will request to tackle head-on if 1 of Denmark’s top occurrence stories is to regain its crown arsenic Europe’s astir valuable company. The 15% broad complaint connected EU imports is not needfully nan extremity of nan communicative arsenic Donald Trump dangles nan imaginable of levies of up to 250% connected pharmaceutical imports nether a abstracted conception 232 investigation.”