The maker of blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy is predicting a sharp decline in sales this year as it grapples with more effective competitors and new policies from the president.
Shares of the Danish company Novo Nordisk fell as much as 18 percent Wednesday after it warned that ‘unprecedented’ pricing policies would likely lead to a decline in sales and profits in 2026.
Novo predicted a decline of eight to 13 percent this year, ending the company’s massive profitable run.
It attributed the drop to President Donald Trump’s drive to slash drug costs, as well as an increase in competition in the weight-loss drug space and the loss of key patent protections.
New policies could see the drugs’ prices drop from more than $1,000 per month to just a few hundred dollars.
Novo rival Eli Lilly, which makes tirzepatide used in Mounjaro and Zepbound, forecast 2026 profits.
Novo CEO Mike Doustdar said the 2026 forecast ‘reflects a year of unprecedented pricing pressure,’ but hoped that the ‘painful’ impact would be an ‘investment for our future.’
Novo Nordisk manufactures the generic drug semaglutide, which was first approved in the US in 2017 to be used in Ozempic. In June 2021, it was approved for use in Wegovy (stock image)
Novo Nordisk manufactures the generic drug semaglutide, which was first approved in the US in 2017 to be used in Ozempic. In June 2021, it was approved for use in Wegovy.
However, Eli Lily’s tirzepatide has been championed as the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss drugs, with doctors saying it is more effective because it mimics two hunger hormones, not just one as with semaglutide, which further slashes cravings.
And data released last month found that while prescriptions for semaglutide dropped 0.8 percent from August to December last year, those for tirzepatide surged 10 percent.
It’s a signal that Ozempic, although it started the weight-loss drug boom, may now be being replaced by tirzepatide, which is less expensive and more effective.
Doustdar partly attributed the down forecast to the Trump administration’s agreement with Novo that aims to severely cut prices, from about the $1,000 a month semaglutide costs now to about $350.
There is also a growing shift toward self-paying patients instead of insurance use, as well as increasing rebates from insurers.
Shares of the Danish company Novo Nordisk fell as much as 18 percent Wednesday after it warned that ‘unprecedented’ pricing policies would likely lead to a decline in sales and profits in 2026
Trump’s Most Favored Nation proposal is also aimed at reducing drug costs by basing US prices of medications on lower prices of the same drugs offered in comparable countries.
Additionally, the patent for semaglutide is expiring in several countries, which would allow other drugmakers to make generic and less expensive versions of the brand names.
However, Novo will retain the patent in Europe and Japan until 2033 and in the US until 2032.
About 31 million Americans, or one in eight, are estimated to have used them at least once, and Novo is hopeful the launch of its new weight-loss pill brings in even more customers.
Doustdar said on a press call: ‘We are very encouraged by the promising early uptake from the US launch of Wegovy pill, and we remain confident in our ability to drive volume growth over the coming years.’
