Novo Nordisk shares fall 20% after firm names new CEO and lowers its monetary outlook

Novo Nordisk shares plunged over 20% on Tuesday after the corporate named a brand new CEO and lowered its revenue expectations, citing weaker gross sales of its common weight-loss drug Wegovy on account of competitors from copycat medication.
In a press release on Tuesday, Novo Nordisk mentioned it expects its gross sales for 2025 to develop 8%-14%, down from projections of 13%-21% in Could. It additionally lowered its expectations for working revenue development to 10%-16%, down from 16%-24% in Could.
The up to date outlook “displays the persistent use of compounded GLP-1s, slower-than-expected market enlargement and competitors,” the corporate mentioned. Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists (GLP-1s), a category of medicine used to handle diabetes, have upended the weight-loss trade.
The Danish pharmaceutical firm additionally introduced on Tuesday the appointment of Maziar Mike Doustdar as president and CEO. Doustdar, who has labored at Novo Nordisk for over 30 years, will take the helm beginning on Aug. 7.
Doustdar will succeed Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, who introduced his departure as CEO of Novo Nordisk in Could, following a steep decline within the firm’s share value, which has dropped almost 37% for the reason that begin of this yr.
Reached for remark, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson mentioned they didn’t have something further to share earlier than the corporate’s earnings name, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Copycat medication pervade market
Whereas world gross sales of Wegovy are rising, gross sales of the weight-loss drug are anticipated to weaken in sure markets on account of elevated competitors from compounded variations of the drug.
Compounded weight-loss medication have the identical lively substances as Wegovy and different common manufacturers similar to Ozempic, and are used as substitutes when the name-brand medication aren’t accessible. Nonetheless, the Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) in April mentioned there isn’t a longer a scarcity of GLP-1s and ordered compounding pharmacies to cease promoting their copycat variations of the favored weight-loss medication.
Regardless of efforts to stymie them, nonetheless, compounded variations of the medication proceed to penetrate the market, giving shoppers a less expensive choice to name-brands like Wegovy, which might value greater than $1000 per bundle for these with out insurance coverage.
In June, Novo Nordisk ended its partnership with Hims & Hers Well being over claims that the web drug retailer was promoting faux variations of Wegovy, a transfer Novo Nordisk mentioned “put affected person security in danger.”
CBS Information medical contributor Dr. Céline Gounder instructed CBS Information final yr that there’s not quite a lot of oversight over the compounded drug market, and that there’s a wide selection relating to the standard and threat related to every drug.
Novo Nordisk mentioned it’s pursuing a number of avenues to “shield sufferers from knockoff ‘semaglutide’ medication” together with litigation. Semaglutide is the lively ingredient present in Wegovy and Ozempic.
“Novo Nordisk is deeply involved that, with out aggressive intervention by federal and state regulators and regulation enforcement, sufferers will proceed to be uncovered to the numerous dangers posed by knockoff ‘semaglutide’ medication made with illicit or inauthentic international lively pharmaceutical substances,” the corporate mentioned in its assertion.
contributed to this report.