COPENHAGEN, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk expects a decline in sales this year, it said on Tuesday, a new setback for the obesity drug pioneer as it struggles to reclaim market share from rival Eli Lilly.
Novo Nordisk is fighting to recapture its crown in the obesity drug market after a bruising year that saw Eli Lilly’s Zepbound overtake Wegovy in U.S. prescriptions and wiped 50% off the Danish company’s share price.
Under new CEO Mike Doustdar, Novo is betting on its newly launched Wegovy pill and aggressive advertising to win back ground.
“In 2026, Novo Nordisk will face pricing headwinds in an increasingly competitive market,” Doustdar said in a statement.
“However, we are very encouraged by the promising early uptake from the U.S. launch of Wegovy pill, and we remain confident in our ability to drive volume growth over the coming years,” he added.
Novo said it expected sales at constant exchange rates to decline between 5% and 13% this year, compared with 10% growth last year. Analysts had, on average, expected Novo’s sales to decline by 2% this year.
Operating profit fell 14% to 31.7 billion crowns in the fourth quarter, compared with the 31.2 billion expected by analysts.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Maggie Fick and Stine Jacobsen. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)
