Novo stock falls as much as 7% despite $23 billion sales target for blockbuster obesity drugs — SkimNews
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- Novo Nordisk shares dropped as much as 7% in Copenhagen trading on Monday after the company laid out long-term growth targets at its Capital Markets Day in London, with shares last seen down 5%
- Novo unveiled plans to launch more than five "multi-blockbuster" drugs by 2030 and generate over 150 billion Danish kroner ($23 billion) in pipeline sales by 2035
- CEO Mike Doustdar called the upcoming loss of semaglutide patent exclusivity "the elephant in the room," noting the key U.S. patent on the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic expires in 2032 in a market that accounts for more than half of Novo's sales
- Doustdar conceded that "almost every other single pharma company, big or small" is now chasing the obesity drug market Novo helped pioneer, adding that the company does not "belittle" the pricing pressure that will follow
- Novo expects revenue growth between 2026 and 2030 to be in line with industry peers, with Doustdar pledging to emerge from the patent-cliff period "as a bigger company than we are today and a much more diversified version of it"
Why it matters: Even an ambitious $23 billion pipeline target couldn't distract investors from Novo's core vulnerability: semaglutide generates the bulk of profits, and its U.S. patent expires in 2032 in a market representing over half of sales, meaning the company has roughly seven years to replace that revenue stream before generic competition arrives.
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