Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk ousts CEO amid pressure – Business News
Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk ousted CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen on Friday over issues the company is dropping its first-mover benefit within the extremely aggressive weight problems drug market.
Days earlier, the Danish pharmaceutical giant cut 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 growth in its largest market — the United States — within the second half of this yr.
Novo’s chairman Helge Lund tried to reassure analysts and traders on a call that the company’s strategy was intact and the plan for executing it had not modified.
Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen had led Denmark’s Novo since 2017. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP through Getty Images
He advised Reuters that discussions to switch Jorgensen had taken place over the previous few weeks.
Novo mentioned earlier that Jorgensen will stay in his function till a successor is discovered.
Novo’s shares have plunged since hitting a record-high in June final yr as competitors, significantly from US rival Eli Lilly, makes inroads into its market share and as its pipeline of new medicine has didn’t impress traders.
Eli Lilly has seen US prescriptions for its Zepbound weight problems shot surpass Wegovy since mid-March in its largest market.
Eli Lilly shares have been up 2.6% after the information.
“The changes are made in light of the recent market challenges Novo Nordisk has been facing, and the development of the company’s share price since mid-2024,” Novo mentioned in its assertion.
Novo Nordisk’s share price fell on the information, trading 0.8% decrease after being 4% greater earlier within the day.
The shares are down 32% year-to-date and 59% from their all-time high.
Under Jorgensen’s management, Novo Nordisk grew to become a world chief within the weight-loss drug market, with sky-rocketing gross sales of its Wegovy and Ozempic therapies. REUTERS
Under Jorgensen’s management, Novo Nordisk grew to become a world chief within the weight-loss drug market, with sky-rocketing gross sales of its Wegovy and Ozempic therapies.
Analysts and traders have been unconvinced of the need to switch him.
“He was leading the company for eight years and was in my opinion extremely successful,” Lukas Leu, a portfolio supervisor at Bellevue Asset Management, advised Reuters.
Danske Bank analyst Carsten Lonborg Madsen was equally caught off guard.
Novo’s shares have plunged since hitting a record-high in June final yr as competitors, significantly from Eli Lilly, makes inroads into its market share and as its pipeline of new medicine has didn’t impress traders. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP through Getty Images
“The way we know Novo Nordisk is that normally you have patience when you’re on the right track, and then you let things move in the right direction once you have the strategy right,” he mentioned.
“It just feels like there’s something that has gone pretty wrong here,” he mentioned on the call.
Jorgensen, at 58, has been CEO since 2017.
He mentioned in an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2 that he didn’t see the choice coming, and was solely knowledgeable very not too long ago.
Eli Lilly has seen US prescriptions for its Zepbound weight problems shot surpass Wegovy since mid-March in its largest market. REUTERS
Booming gross sales of Wegovy helped make Novo probably the most beneficial listed company in Europe, price $615 billion at its peak in June final yr, however its market worth has halved to about $310 billion.
Camilla Sylvest, Novo’s head of business strategy and company affairs and a constant presence alongside CEO Jorgensen, stepped down final month with out citing a motive.
Former CEO of Novo Nordisk for 16 years and present chair of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Lars Rebien Sorensen, will be part of the board as an observer with instant impact with the goal of taking a seat on the subsequent annual basic assembly, Novo mentioned.
The company is managed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation via its investment arm which owns 77% of the voting shares.
