Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, identified for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss therapies Ozempic and Wegovy, on Tuesday lowered its full-year earnings forecasts once more because it unveiled a brand new chief government to sort out “current market challenges”.
The corporate has confronted rising headwinds in the important thing US pharmaceutical market, the place the 2 medicine, generally known as GLP-1 injections, have seen their dominance challenged by rivals together with Eli Lilly.
A rule by the US Meals and Drug Administration permitting pharmacies to create so-called “compound” copycat variations of the drug after excessive demand led to shortages has additionally weighed on earnings, Novo stated.
“Regardless of the expiry of the FDA grace interval for mass compounding on Could 22, 2025, Novo Nordisk market analysis reveals that unsafe and illegal mass compounding has continued,” it stated in a press release.
It now expects full-year gross sales progress general of eight to 14 p.c, down from the 13 to 21 p.c anticipated after a primary forecast downgrade earlier this yr.
Working margins are seen reaching 10 to 16 p.c, as an alternative of the forecast of 16 to 24 p.c.
The decrease forecasts got here as Novo reported Tuesday an 18 p.c gross sales enhance for the primary half of the yr, whereas working revenue progress fell to 29 p.c after progress of 40 p.c in the identical interval final yr.
The “market challenges” prompted Novo to announce in Could the departure of its chief government Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, who can be changed by Maziar Mike Doustdar, at the moment its vice chairman for worldwide operations.
“We’re assured that he’s the very best particular person to guide Novo Nordisk by its subsequent progress part,” board chairman Helge Lund stated in a press release.
“This is a vital second for Novo Nordisk,” Lund stated. “The market is creating quickly, and the corporate wants to handle current market challenges with velocity and ambition.”
Novo Nordisk’s full first-half outcomes can be printed August 6.
