Key Takeaways
- Novo Nordisk cuts financial guidance for the fourth time this year.
- Sales growth forecast lowered from 14% to 11%.
- Operating profit growth reduced to 7%.
- Competition from Eli Lilly and copycat drugs intensifies.
Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical giant behind Ozempic and Wegovy, has slashed its financial forecasts for the fourth time this year amid intense competition in the weight-loss drug market.
The Danish company’s new CEO, Mike Doustdar, is leading efforts to stabilize the business as it faces mounting pressure from rival Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound, along with growing demand for copycat versions of its GLP-1 treatments.
Market Pressure Mounts
Doustdar described the current environment as “more competitive than ever,” noting that “well above” one million patients in the US are now using copycat versions of Novo’s drugs that contain the same active ingredients.
The company’s shares fell 4.5% following the announcement, despite reporting a 5% rise in operating profits to £11.3 billion and a 12% increase in net sales to £27.1 billion for the first nine months of the year.
Revised Financial Outlook
“While we delivered robust sales growth in the first nine months of 2025, the lower growth expectations for our GLP-1 treatments, for diabetes and obesity, have led to a narrowing of our guidance,” Doustdar stated.
The company now expects sales to rise by up to 11% this year, down from previous guidance of 14%, while operating profit growth has been revised to 7%.
