News

Novo Nordisk trims forecast as obesity competition curbs growthSales of Wegovy fell short of estimates in the first quarter. Profit at Novo, however, was better than expected. The stock fell 5.3% on Tradegate before European exchanges opened.By Bloomberg  May 7, 2025, 12:29:58 PM IST (Published)2 Min ReadNovo Nordisk A/S trimmed its forecasts as sales of the drugmaker’s blockbuster obesity and diabetes medicines struggle with competition in the US.

Revenue will likely rise by as much as 21% and operating profit by as much as 24% at constant exchange rates this year, the Danish company said Wednesday. Novo had previously predicted increases as high as 24% and 27%.

Analysts had anticipated the move as Novo battles its longtime rival, Eli Lilly & Co., for supremacy in the booming obesity space. Despite being on the market first, Novo’s obesity shot Wegovy has been losing ground to Lilly’s competing drug Zepbound.

: Pfizer cuts spending on weaker sales after obesity failure

Sales of Wegovy fell short of estimates in the first quarter. Profit at Novo, however, was better than expected. The stock fell 5.3% on Tradegate before European exchanges opened.

Novo blamed competition from cheaper compounding drugs in the US for the forecast trim and vowed to fight to prevent “unlawful compounding and further expand access.”

US regulators in February said Novo’s sister drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are no longer in shortage, a decision that forces compounding pharmacies to stop copying the medicines. But the Food and Drug Administration gave the compounders a delay, meaning Novo is likely to feel the effect of the ruling in the second quarter.

Novo won a skirmish in the fight with Lilly last week, when CVS Health Corp. announced a deal to make Wegovy more widely available and move Zepbound off a list of preferred drugs. Yet many analysts believe the drugmaker’s long-term outlook depends on how well it can compete with Lilly’s slate of next-generation obesity medicines, including a pill called orforglipron that delivered promising results last month.

Novo shares have struggled to gain momentum this year. In March, the stock had its worst month since 2002, and the shares fell again in April. But the drugmaker’s recently announced telehealth and CVS deals prompted a 13% rally last week.

Also Read: Biocon launches generic Liraglutide in the UK for diabetes, obesity treatmentContinue Reading(Edited by : Juviraj Anchil)Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!Tags