Days earlier, Novo Nordisk lower its gross sales and revenue forecast for first time for the reason that launch of Wegovy 4 years in the past.
Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk has pushed out CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen over considerations the corporate is dropping its first-mover benefit within the extremely aggressive weight problems drug market.
Novo Nordisk introduced the choice on Friday.
Days earlier, Novo Nordisk lower its gross sales and revenue forecast for the primary time for the reason that launch of Wegovy 4 years in the past, although Jorgensen had predicted a return to development in its largest market within the second half of this yr.
Novo’s chairman, Helge Lund, tried to reassure analysts and traders on a name that the corporate’s technique was intact and the plan for executing it had not modified.
He informed the Reuters information company that discussions to interchange Jorgensen had occurred over the previous few weeks. Novo stated earlier that Jorgensen will stay in his position till a successor is discovered.
Below Jorgensen’s management, Novo Nordisk grew to become a world chief within the weight-loss drug market, with skyrocketing gross sales of its Wegovy and Ozempic therapies.
Analysts and traders had been unconvinced of the necessity to change him.
“He was main the corporate for eight years and was, for my part, extraordinarily profitable,” Lukas Leu, a portfolio supervisor at Bellevue Asset Administration, informed Reuters.
Danske Financial institution analyst Carsten Lonborg Madsen was equally caught off guard.
“The best way we all know Novo Nordisk is that usually you may have endurance while you’re heading in the right direction, and then you definitely let issues transfer in the appropriate route after getting the technique proper,” he stated.
“It simply looks like there’s one thing that has gone fairly incorrect right here,” he stated on the decision.
Novo’s shares have plunged since hitting a file excessive in June final yr as competitors, notably from US rival Eli Lilly, makes inroads into its market share and as its pipeline of recent medicine has didn’t impress traders.
“The modifications are made in gentle of the current market challenges Novo Nordisk has been dealing with, and the event of the corporate’s share value since mid-2024,” Novo stated in its assertion.
Shares down
Jorgensen, at 58, has been CEO since 2017. He stated in an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2 that he didn’t see the choice coming, and was solely knowledgeable very lately.
Booming gross sales of Wegovy helped make Novo essentially the most precious listed firm in Europe, value $615bn at its peak in June final yr, however its market worth has halved to about $310bn.
Novo Nordisk’s share value fell on the information, buying and selling 0.8 % decrease by 14:01 GMT after being 4 % increased earlier within the day.
The shares are down 32 % year-to-date and 59 % from their all-time excessive.
Eli Lilly has seen US prescriptions for its Zepbound weight problems shot surpass Wegovy since mid-March in its largest market. Eli Lilly shares had been up 2.6 % after the information.
Camilla Sylvest, Novo’s head of economic technique and company affairs and a constant presence alongside CEO Jorgensen, stepped down final month with out citing a cause.
Former CEO of Novo Nordisk for 16 years and present chair of the Novo Nordisk Basis, Lars Rebien Sorensen, will be part of the board as an observer with instant impact with the intention of taking a seat on the subsequent annual basic assembly, Novo stated.
The corporate is managed by the Novo Nordisk Basis via its funding arm, which owns 77 % of the voting shares.
