Novo Nordisk share price plunges after blaming lower US drug prices, patent protection issues and rising competition
The maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, has predicted a sharp drop in revenues this year owing to a push by Donald Trump to lower US weight-loss drug prices, rising competition and the loss of key patent protections.
Denmark’s Novo , once the poster-child for the growth in weight-loss treatments, said sales this year were likely to fall between 5% and 13%, despite the launch of its new Wegovy pill in the US. Its share price plummeted 18% on Wednesday morning, erasing all gains so far this year. In the past year the stock has lost nearly 50% of its value.
Last year, Novo sales grew by 10% to 309bn Danish kroner (£36.6bn) “despite being a challenging year for the company”, according to Mike Doustdar, the chief executive. Profit before tax rose by 3% to 130.5bn kroner.
Doustdar added that this year Novo expected to “face pricing headwinds in an increasingly competitive market”.
