Novo Nordisk CEO to step down amid market challenges and stock plunge
Novo Nordisk outgoing CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen (Image credit: LinkedIn)
Danish pharmaceutical giant
Novo Nordisk
, maker of popular
weight-loss drug
Ozempic
, announced on Friday that
CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen
will step down, citing ongoing "market challenges" and a significant drop in the company's share value.
The board and Jorgensen reached a mutual decision to initiate a leadership transition. He will remain in his role temporarily to "support a smooth transition to new leadership", according to the company.
'The changes are, however, 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,' the company said in a statement. The board and Jorgensen 'have jointly concluded that initiating a CEO succession is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders," it added.
The decision comes as Novo Nordisk grapples with a sharp decline in its stock price- down more than 50 per cent since June 2024. This was after the stock value had experienced a dramatic surge following the launch of both
Wegovy
and the
diabetes
medication Ozempic, with both products containing semaglutide as their primary active component.
Then, sShares fell a further three per cent on the Copenhagen exchange following Friday's CEO exit announcement.
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The company recently downgraded its annual sales growth projection, adjusting the forecast from 16-24 per cent to 13-21 per cent. The revision is attributed to rising competition, particularly from compounded versions of its
GLP-1 drugs
Wegovy and Ozempic, produced in American pharmacies during a recent supply shortage.
However, the US regulators, even though had declared the shortage over in February and ordered an end to compounding, the impact continues to be felt.
Novo Nordisk stated it is 'actively focused on preventing unlawful and unsafe compounding.'
The firm also faces increasing pressure from US rival
Eli Lilly
, whose weight-loss injection
Zepbound
is gaining traction in the same market. A research paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Sunday revealed that individuals achieved greater weight reduction whilst using Eli Lilly's rival medication Zepbound.
Additionally, the announcement of successful clinical trials for Eli Lilly's diabetes and obesity medication orforglipron caused Novo Nordisk's share prices to decline significantly last month.
Diabetes affects more than 10 percent of people globally, and treatments for this condition remain central to Novo Nordisk's pharmaceutical operations. The
International Diabetes Federation
projects a 46 percent rise in adult diabetes cases by 2045.
Additionally, the World Obesity Federation anticipates that by 2035, obesity and overweight conditions will affect over 50 percent of global population, potentially resulting in annual economic consequences exceeding $4 trillion.
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