Novo Nordisk CEO says company is open to larger M&A deals

Novo Nordisk ↘ 3.12% CEO Mike Doustdar told CNBC on Tuesday that the company is actively considering mergers and acquisitions to fill gaps in its drug portfolio, a day after the Danish drugmaker's Capital Markets Day in London left investors underwhelmed.cnbc

The remarks come as Novo faces intensifying competition from Eli Lilly ↘ 1.64% in the weight-loss drug market, with its flagship semaglutide molecule approaching patent expirations in the early 2030s.reuters

A Broader Pipeline Through Deals

Doustdar said Novo would first identify gaps in its own portfolio and then look externally for companies that have developed or are preparing drugs superior to what Novo could build on its own. "We will not start with the size of the deal," he said. "We'll start with the quality of the assets and see where that will take us".ua+1

The company indicated its balance sheet could support larger transactions, not just small bolt-on deals. Novo flagged potential areas of interest including immune-mediated diseases, pain, addiction, women's and men's health, and blood and endocrine disorders. The M&A push builds on comments Doustdar made to CNBC in May, when he said Novo was "looking for deals more than ever before" and needed "not just the best, but the broadest pipeline in the world".tradingview+1

Capital Markets Day Fails to Convince

At Monday's Capital Markets Day, Novo outlined plans to launch more than five "multi-blockbuster" drugs by 2030 and generate over 150 billion Danish crowns — roughly $23 billion — in risk-adjusted pipeline sales by 2035, according to Reuters. But the targets failed to reassure analysts, who pressed management on pricing power and dealmaking strategy. Shares fell roughly 8% on Monday.global.morningstar+1

Novo also presented data on CagriSema, its experimental combination targeting GLP-1 and amylin, which showed an estimated 12.4% average weight loss in diabetes patients — outperforming a lower dose of Lilly's tirzepatide. The company is targeting an early 2027 launch.tradingview

Smaller Obesity Stocks Rally on Deal Hopes

The M&A signal sent shares of smaller obesity-focused companies higher on Monday. Viking Therapeutics ↗ 1.96% gained nearly 4%, Structure Therapeutics ↘ 2.60% rose more than 5%, and Altimmune ↘ 6.45% edged up nearly 1%. Investors view these companies as potential acquisition targets given their clinical-stage obesity and liver-disease pipelines. Novo has already shown appetite for such deals through its earlier acquisition of Akero Therapeutics, which developed treatments for metabolic liver disease.tradingview