Novo Nordisk shares slide after growth plan fails to impress investors

Novo Nordisk ↗ 0.02% shares fell as much as 7% in Copenhagen on Monday after the Danish drugmaker's Capital Markets Day in London failed to convince investors it has a credible near-term plan to sustain growth beyond its blockbuster Wegovy and Ozempic franchises.

Grand Ambitions Meet Skeptical Market

CEO Mike Doustdar pledged to launch more than five "multi-blockbuster" drugs by 2030 and targeted over 150 billion Danish kroner ($23 billion) in pipeline sales by 2035. He told investors the company would diversify into blood and endocrine disorders, liver diseases, and cardiovascular conditions, while promising revenue growth between 2026 and 2030 "in line with industry peers".cnbc+1

But the market wanted more. Shares dropped during Doustdar's opening remarks, a sign that investors had hoped for concrete near-term catalysts rather than long-dated targets. "Investors hoped for a project 'miracle' that could turn the momentum around short term. For obvious reasons that miracle does not exist," Per Hansen, savings economist at Nordnet, told CNBC.statnews+1

The Semaglutide Patent Cliff

Doustdar called the looming loss of U.S. patent protection on semaglutide — the active ingredient in both Wegovy and Ozempic — the "elephant in the room". The patent expires in 2032 in the United States, which accounts for more than half of Novo's sales. Exclusivity has already lapsed in Canada, India, Brazil, and Turkey this year, opening the door to cheaper generics.finance.yahoo+2

The company has ceded its lead in the injectable weight-loss market to Eli Lilly ↘ 0.79%, whose Zepbound and Mounjaro treatments are expected to outpace Wegovy sales this year by more than $7 billion. Novo's shares have fallen roughly 70% from their 2023 peak, while Lilly's have surged.cnbc+1

A Path Forward — or Not Enough?

Novo offered some bright spots: its oral Wegovy pill has recorded 7 million U.S. prescriptions to date, with 90% flowing through direct cash-pay channels. The company also detailed plans to launch CagriSema, its next-generation obesity injectable, early next year. Doustdar said Novo aims to reach more than 60 million patients globally by 2030 and scale oral GLP-1 manufacturing capacity tenfold.globalbankingandfinance

Still, analysts and investors said internal R&D alone cannot bridge the revenue gap. "They absolutely need to acquire something — I don't think they have enough power to do this all by their own," said Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at Union Investment. Total departures linked to the company's ongoing restructuring have now reached 13,000 employees, underscoring the scale of the overhaul Doustdar is undertaking barely a year into the role.freemalaysiatoday+1