Novo Nordisk announced a better-than-expected net profit rise but has adjusted its full-year sales growth forecast due to challenges with its Wegovy weight loss drugs. The Danish pharmaceutical company reported a net profit of 29.03 billion Danish kroner ($4.4 billion) for Q1, surpassing analyst expectations. However, sales of Wegovy were slightly below forecasts. For 2025, Novo Nordisk now anticipates sales growth between 13% to 21%, down from the previous forecast of 16% to 24%. This reduction is attributed to increased competition from compounded weight loss drugs in the U.S. CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen stated that while they expanded the reach of their GLP-1 treatments, the rapid expansion of compounding in the U.S. impacted branded GLP-1 penetration. The FDA had previously allowed U.S. compounding pharmacies to legally produce copies of Wegovy and Ozempic under a drug shortage ruling, which ended in February. Novo Nordisk plans to pursue companies unlawfully distributing copycat drugs. Despite high demand for their GLP-1 treatments, the company faces competition from other pharma firms like Roche, AstraZeneca, and AbbVie.
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