Novo Nordisk has achieved a historic milestone with its shares reaching a record high.
The high has been propelled by the soaring sales of its obesity and diabetes drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic.
This success has catapulted the Danish company’s market value beyond $500 billion which has secured its position as Europe’s most valuable company.
- Weight loss plateau unavoidable even with Ozempic and Wegovy
- FDA approves new obesity drug Zepbound to compete with Wegovy
- Wegovy effect: Nestle launching new products for people using semaglutide jabs
The demand for anti-obesity drugs has been endorsed by celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk which has created a challenge for Novo Nordisk to meet orders, prompting urgent efforts to expand production facilities.
The obesity drug sales witnessed an astounding 154% increase, reaching 41.6 billion Danish kroner (£4.8 billion) last year, fuelled predominantly by the popularity of Wegovy, which contributed £3.6 billion.
Sales of its diabetes drugs like Ozempic experienced a 52% surge, leading to a combined total of nearly £25 billion in sales for obesity and diabetes medications.
Both medications contain semaglutide.
Novo Nordisk’s overall sales recorded a 36% rise, reaching £26.6 billion, accompanied by a 52% boost in profit before tax, totaling £12 billion.
- Wegovy: NHS receives limited stock of weight-loss injection
- European Medicines Agency recommends weight loss drug Wegovy for teenagers 12 and up
- Boots chemist to sell Wegovy weight loss jab from Spring
Looking ahead, the company anticipates a slowdown in sales growth citing increased competition and ongoing supply constraints as contributing factors.
Ozempic and Wegovy have shown promise in reducing inflammation which has raisesd hope for their potential application in treating diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, characterised by brain inflammation, according to findings published in the journal Nature.
Commenting on the cost of the drugs, Novo Nordisk’s Chief Financial Officer, Karsten Munk Knudsen expects a gradual reduction in prices for as more individuals initiate self-injecting these drugs weekly.
