Flags with the logos of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, maker of the blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy are pictures while the company presents the annual report at Novo Nordisk in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, on February 5, 2025.
Mads Claus Rasmussen | Afp | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter net profit but lowered its full-year sales growth forecast on weaker demand for its blockbuster Wegovy weight loss drugs amid increased competition from copycat compounders.
The Danish pharmaceutical giant’s net profit came in at 29.03 billion Danish kroner ($4.4 billion) for the three-month period to the end of March, ahead of the 27.8 billion Danish kroner forecast by analysts in an LSEG poll.
Sales of the company’s popular Wegovy obesity drug rose 83% annually at constant exchange rates to 17.36 billion Danish kroner, slightly below the 18.51 billion Danish kroner anticipated by analysts in a Factset poll Tuesday.
Overall revenues at Novo Nordisk — which also produces diabetes and rare disease treatments — rose 18% to 78.09 billion Danish kroner versus an expected 78.18 million Danish kroner.
First-quarter sales of diabetes treatment Ozempic came in at 32.72 billion Danish kroner compared to forecasts of 31.5 billion Danish kroner.
For 2025, the company now sees sales growth of 13% to 21% at constant exchange rates, below the 16% to 24% previously forecast in February. Operating profit growth is forecast at 16% to 24%, versus 19% to 27% previously.
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen attributed the reduced forecast to rising competition from compounded weight loss drugs in the U.S.
“In the first quarter of 2025, we delivered 18% sales growth and continued to expand the reach of our innovative GLP-1 treatments,” Jørgensen said in a statement.
“However, we have reduced our full-year outlook due to lowerthan-planned branded GLP-1 penetration, which is impacted by the rapid expansion of compounding in the U.S.”
U.S. compounding pharmacies had been permitted to make legal copies of Novo’s Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic under a drug shortage ruling by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA in February declared that shortage over, giving compounding pharmacies until May 22 to cease selling copies of the drug. However, Jørgensen reiterated Wednesday that the company would pursue companies that continue to unlawfully distribute such copycat drugs.
Competition heats up
The results come amid runaway demand for the drug maker’s blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss treatments, which work by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 to suppress appetite.
However, the company has struggled to shake negative sentiment following a series of disappointing trial results for its next-generation obesity drug candidate CagriSema.
Novo Nordisk confirmed Wednesday that it plans to file for regulatory approval of CagriSema in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, it has applied for regulatory U.S. approval of an oral version of its existing semaglutide treatment, which it said has the potential to be “the first oral GLP-1 treatment for obesity.”
Competition is heating up in the weight loss drug market, with pharma firms including Roche, AstraZeneca and AbbVie all currently developing potential new candidates.
Novo’s key U.S. rival Eli Lilly on Thursday reported an expectation-beating 45% rise in first-quarter sales, though revenues for its popular weight-loss drug Zepbound came in slightly lower than expected on lower drug pricing. The U.S. drugmaker also lowered its full-year profit guidance due to charges related to a recent cancer treatment deal, sending shares lower.