Latest news with #KarstenMunkKnudsen
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cash pay is 'going to constitute a major part of the Wegovy business': Novo Nordisk CFO
Novo Nordisk (NVO) reported an earnings miss Wednesday, sending its stock down 4% in early trading, pressuring the stock further after a surprise management shake-up earlier in the year and sharply lowered guidance despite growing sales of its blockbuster GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. The stock is down more than 46% year to date as a result. CFO Karsten Munk Knudsen discussed some of the changes in recent weeks. He told Yahoo Finance that the leadership change — the ousting of CEO Lars Jørgensen and international head Mike Doustdar taking his place — was a surprise. "I was surprised about the changes of CEOs back in May," Knudsen said. "But ... looking at other companies ... when pressure is on, in terms of performance and competition, then it's not unusual that bosses and owners assess what's the right team to lead the company. In a macro setting I don't think its extraordinary, but in a Novo setting it was indeed surprising." The US market has also proven a challenge for Novo Nordisk, as it lost its lead despite a first-mover advantage to competitor Eli Lilly (LLY). Executives blame the compounding market, in which copycats are allowed under special circumstances, with telehealth platforms taking advantage of the loophole despite the FDA ending a shortage of GLP-1s that previously allowed copycats to freely sell on the market. Knudsen said the compounding market is about one-third of current GLP-1 prescriptions in the US market. On top of the competition and copycats, Novo Nordisk, like other big pharma names, has been targeted by the Trump administration to lower prices for consumers. It was one of 17 companies to receive a letter demanding lower costs for current and new products. "In reality, we're not that far apart in the sense that we also drive for affordable access in products that we supply. Our GLP-1 pricing is already rather low," Knudsen said, without revealing the actual numbers. Outgoing CEO Lars Jørgensen said on an earnings call Wednesday that its prices for Medicaid, for example, are already lower than in Europe. Those prices are not publicly available. The letter also asked the companies to price new drugs at the same low pricing found in other developed countries and to provide the lower cash prices more widely. Crunching cash numbers Some experts have expressed doubt about cash market success, however. Craig Garthwaite, a professor of strategy and healthcare at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, posted on X in response to the Trump letters, questioning the strategy's viability. "How many customers do we believe have the ability (or willingness) to pay out of pocket for brand name drugs? A simple reading of the literature on increasing cost sharing suggests that people are not prepared to pay cash for these products — even if it is at the net and not the list price," Garthwaite said. But Knudsen noted that of its Wegovy patients in the US, 10% are paying cash through NovoCare, the direct-to-consumer channel, after it launched in March. "I am absolutely convinced that the cash channel is going to increase from here, and going to constitute a major part of the Wegovy business into the future," he said, adding that the overall cash market for GLP-1 in the US is already way above 10%. Knudsen referenced the compounding market, saying it provides insight into the potential, as those customers are cash-paying and represent one-third of the Wegovy market. But the cash price paid for copycats is significantly lower than the $499 per month available on NovoCare. Hims and Hers (HIMS), which Novo recently cut ties with over its refusal to stop selling compounded semaglutide, advertises prices as low as $199 per month for a 12-month plan of the copycat drug. Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, provider services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee as AnjKhem on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Novo Nordisk warns copycat drugs continue weighing on sales
Novo Nordisk (NVO) offered investors an update about ongoing cost-cutting efforts as copycat weight-loss drugs weigh on sales and lawmakers push for lower prices. Yahoo Finance Senior Healthcare Reporter Anjalee Khemlani outlines the latest and shares what she learned from her interview with Novo Nordisk CFO Karsten Munk Knudsen. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts. Novo Nordisk is doubling down on direct to consumer offerings to both combat copycat compounders and satisfy lawmakers demands for lower drug prices. In a surprise profit warning last week, the company warned that copycat compounds were affecting sales of its blockbuster Wegovy drug, particularly in the US. Here with more details on what we heard today, senior health reporter, Anjalee Khemlani. Hi, Anj. Hi, Julie. That's right. We heard from Novo Nordisk today. More clarity on that downward revision. If you recall last week, the company did say it was expecting sales growth to reduce from 13 to 20% down to 8 to 14%. Big jump there. And then they did miss on earnings for the second quarter. So that was expected. Uh, reporting 11.95 billion compared to 11.97 billion. A majority of that coming from the GLP-1 sales from Ozempic and Wegovy sales. Um, they did also miss on earnings per share, 5.96 per share compared to 606 from the street. And we know that this is also coming at a time when the company's feeling the pressure of competition with Eli Lilly as well as the pressure to address the compounding market. They have doubled down, as you mentioned, on that market saying that Ozempic is also going to be rolled out on that market to this year, towards the end of this year. And that just shows how much they think of it. They've already said that 10% of the Wegovy market in the US is cash paying, and so they expect that direct to consumer cash paying uh, system to grow. I had a chance to talk to the CFO, uh Carson, um Knutson. And he did talk about that, telling me that he has full faith in this cash paying business and it's going to grow. But it also comes at a time when the company, as I mentioned, under pressure, looking at the shift in the CEO, a company that has prided itself on having a handful of CEOs in its more than 100 year history is now dealing with the reality of the pressure of this very profitable market. And so here's what Carson had to say about that. I was surprised about the change of CEO back in, back in May. Uh, but I would say looking at, at other companies and other industries, then it's, it's not unusual to, to change CEO from time to time. And, uh, and Lars has had a fantastic run for, for more than eight years. And, uh, and, and then other companies when pressure's on in terms of, of performance and competition, then it's, it's not unusual that, that boards and owners they assess what's the right team to, to, to lead the company from a given point in time. So, so in a macro setting, I don't think it's extraordinary, but in a Novo setting it, it, it was indeed surprising. Just highlighting how much Novo has had to pivot to address its position as a market leader compared to its past. And in addition, I also talked to him about, you know, the programs that have been cut. There have been a couple of early stage products in the pipeline that they cut in part, could be to address sort of this reduction in sale and needing to show a little bit of profitability, but Carson said that it wasn't exactly that. So here's what he explained. The projects we stopped, we simply didn't see sufficient differentiation from what's already in pipeline or on the market to take it forward. So we'd rather close these trials and then prioritize our R&D efforts on, on other more promising trials. So as you can hear, you know, they're looking not just at that, but then they also have their next gen GLP-1s in the pipeline as well, and a lot of focus on that, knowing that they have a market lead position in the weight loss market and the GLP-1 market to protect, and a lot of resources going there it seems. Back to you. Related Videos AMD is Nvidia Blackwell's 'closest' competition, strategist says Snap earnings: Stalled growth isn't just from an 'ad glitch' Top 3 takeaways from Uber's Q2 results Novo CFO: US Wegovy, Ozempic Prices to Keep Falling Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Novo CFO: US Wegovy, Ozempic Prices to Keep Falling
The maker of Ozempic and Wegovy obesity drugs said some of the prices could come down, as President Trump called for drugmakers to immediately lower their prices for Medicaid. This comes as Novo Nordisk's sales showed the weakest growth in four years as the Danish drugmaker loses ground to Eli Lilly in the crucial US market for obesity drugs. Karsten Munk Knudsen spoke with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua from Copenhagen.
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk warns continued copycat-drug competition as it loses U.S. market share
Novo Nordisk NVO-N cautioned on Wednesday that it expects continued competition this year from copycat versions of its Wegovy obesity drug, as it battled pressure from compounding pharmacies in the United States and rival Eli Lilly. The Danish drugmaker, which become Europe's most valuable company worth US$650-billion last year on sales of its blockbuster weight-loss drug, is facing a pivotal moment as Wegovy loses market share, especially in the U.S. Last week, competition from compounders – who make copycat medicines based on the same ingredients as Wegovy – prompted the company to cut its full-year sales and profit outlook. That profit warning took investors by surprise and wiped US$95-billion off Novo's market value. In May, the company said it expected many of the roughly one million U.S. patients using compounded GLP-1 drugs to switch to branded treatments after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on compounded copies of Wegovy took effect on May 22, and it expected compounding to wind down in the third quarter. However, on a call with journalists on Wednesday, CFO Karsten Munk Knudsen said more than one million U.S. patients were still using compounded GLP-1s and that Novo's lowered outlook has 'not assumed a reduction in compounding' this year. Knudsen reiterated that the company was pursuing multiple strategies, including lawsuits against compounding pharmacies, to halt unlawful mass compounding of its blockbuster medicine. The company reiterated its full-year earnings expectations on Wednesday after last week's profit warning reduced its 2025 sales outlook, and named veteran insider Maziar Mike Doustdar to take over from CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen from Thursday. Novo Nordisk expands lawsuits in U.S. against weight-loss drug compounders Jorgensen said in a statement that the company was acting to 'ensure efficiencies in our cost base while continuing to invest in future growth.' Doustdar said last week the company will pursue 'savings and efficiencies.' Investors have questioned whether Novo Nordisk can stay competitive in the booming weight-loss drug market. At least five major equity analysts have cut their price targets on the stock since last week. Shares in Novo plunged 30 per cent last week – their worst weekly performance in over two decades and were down 0.3 per cent in morning trading on Wednesday. Sales of Wegovy rose 67 per cent to 19.53-billion crowns in the second quarter from a year ago, the company said. Novo reported second-quarter sales of 76.86 billion Danish crowns (US$11.92-billion), up 18 per cent from last year, but below analysts' initial expectations. It confirmed a 2025 sales growth forecast of between 8 per cent and 14 per cent, which was cut in a profit warning last week from the previous 13-21 per cent. It was the second time this year that the company has cut its sales forecast. Second-quarter earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) stood at 33.45 billion crowns, up 29 per cent from a year ago. Barclays analysts said in a note that while Wegovy's U.S. pricing held steady in the second quarter, the company expects deeper erosion in the key U.S. market in the second half due to a greater portion of sales expected from the direct-to-consumer or cash-pay channel, as well as higher rebates and discounts to insurers.
CNBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
'We are lowering our prices' in the U.S. says Novo Nordisk CFO
Karsten Munk Knudsen, CFO of Novo Nordisk, discusses the prospect of tariffs on pharmaceuticals and the importance of the U.S. market to the Danish drugmaker.
