CEO of Novo Nordisk, maker of weight loss drug Wegovy, to step down in
wake of share price drop
[May 17, 2025] By
DAVID McHUGH
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk
A/S, maker of blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy, said Friday its CEO
was stepping down by “mutual agreement” with the company's board of
directors, citing “recent market challenges” and a steep decline in the
company's share price.
Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen's departure comes a week after the company
downgraded its sales and profits forecast, and follows a more than 50%
decline in the company's shares since mid-2024. Shares had skyrocketed
after the introduction of Wegovy and diabetes medicine Ozempic, which
are both based on the same basic ingredient, semaglutide.
At the peak, the company's market capitalization - or the combined price
of all its shares - exceeded Denmark's annual gross domestic product and
made it Europe's most valuable company, a title it has since lost to
software maker SAP.
The company said May 7 that Wegovy sales in the U.S. had been undercut
by cheaper replica drugs produced by so-called compounding pharmacies
using active ingredients of patented drugs in case of shortage. The Food
and Drug Administration, the U.S. drug regulator, has said however that
the shortages have eased and the replicas will have to cease in the
coming months.
The drugs are part of a wave of obesity medications known as GLP-1
receptor agonists that also includes another Novo weight loss drug,
Saxenda. They have soared in popularity due to the amount of weight
people lose while taking the injections.
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Novo Nordisk headquarters in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, Wednesday, Feb. 5,
2025. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File)
 On Sunday a study was published in
the New England Journal of Medicine showing people lost more weight
using competitor drug Zepbound, made by Eli Lilly of Indianapolis.
The study, the first head-to-head comparison of the two, was funded
by Lilly. Novo Nordisk's share price is down 54% from its peak in
June 2024. Its U.S.-listed shares fell another 3% in morning trading
Friday.
The company, headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, praised a
“significant growth journey and transformation” led by Jorgensen
during his eight years as CEO. He has been with the company since
1991.
“The changes are, however, made in light of the recent market
challenges Novo Nordisk has been facing, and the development of the
company’s share price since mid-2024,” the company said in a
statement. The board and Jorgensen “have jointly concluded that
initiating a CEO succession is in the best interest of the company
and its shareholders.”
Jorgensen will continue as CEO “for a period” to support a smooth
transition.
—-
AP Health Writer Tom Murphy contributed from Indianapolis.
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