When Ozempic and Wegovy launched, their bombshell success was only going to be exclusive to their maker—Novo Nordisk—for a matter of time. While the Danish pharma giant holds the patents to these GLP-1 medications for the time being, some are due to expire as early as next year.
The success of these drugs, used to treat diabetes and obesity, has naturally caught the attention of Novo Nordisk’s competitors. America’s Eli Lilly, for example, is seeing growing demand for its Mounjaro product and is keen for a pill form of the medication to be pushed speedily through the U.S. approvals process.
Novo Nordisk has a pill form of its own products to come, but the fact remains that until it can conjure its next rabbit from the hat, the outlook is weakening. In its Q3 2025 results released Nov. 5, Novo reported expected sales growth for the year of between 8% and 11% at constant exchange rates, and operating profit growth now between 4% and 7%. Compared with the same time last year, Novo was predicting 22% operating profit growth and sales growth of 24%.
Novo Nordisk shares dropped on the update before quickly rebounding, but its stock remains on a downward trajectory. Its share price has fallen more than 50% year to date.
