Novo Nordisk shares rise as the company expects weight-loss drug competition to subside
The Danish pharma giant just cut its full-year sales and profit guidance for the first time since it launched Wegovy in 2021, with similar drugs from competitors eating into its US market share.
However, Novo Nordisk investors are still cheering the stock, which is up ~5% in trading in Denmark, after the drugmaker said that it expects competition from copycat versions of its flagship weight-loss drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, will tail off in the second half of the year thanks to a new ruling from the Food and Drug Administration.
In February, the FDA ruled that shortages of Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy were over, making it harder for telepharmacies like Hims & Hers to make knockoff versions of the medicines from May 22. The company also recently struck a deal with CVS to make Wegovy one of the pharmacy’s preferred drugs for its prescription plans (replacing Eli Lilly’s rival Zepbound), while also cutting the price of the anti-obesity medicine for the drugstore’s customers.
In February, the FDA ruled that shortages of Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy were over, making it harder for telepharmacies like Hims & Hers to make knockoff versions of the medicines from May 22. The company also recently struck a deal with CVS to make Wegovy one of the pharmacy’s preferred drugs for its prescription plans (replacing Eli Lilly’s rival Zepbound), while also cutting the price of the anti-obesity medicine for the drugstore’s customers.
