Novo Nordisk named its head of international operations as chief executive officer after slumping weight-loss drug sales led to a profit warning that wiped $93 billion off its market value.
The Danish drugmaker promoted Maziar Mike Doustdar, who has spent more than three decades with the company, to the top spot. The surprise choice disappointed investors who were hoping for a high-profile outsider to lead a fresh challenge to Eli Lilly & Co., which has been pulling ahead of Novo in the obesity market.
The appointment came shortly after Novo slashed its financial forecast, predicting this year’s sales will grow 8 to 14 percent, while operating profit expands 10 to 16 percent, based on constant exchange rates. That compares with its previous growth forecasts of as much as 21 and 24 percent, respectively.
Shares of Novo plunged as much as 30 percent in Copenhagen, the biggest intraday drop on record.
Doustdar said he plans to “increase the sense of urgency and execute differently,” and his top priorities will be advancing Novo’s drug pipeline, innovation and investing to deliver growth.
The new CEO, who takes over on Aug. 7, also said on a call with journalists that he’s planning to review the company’s cost base, without citing specific targets for cuts. That indicates Novo is preparing for a period of slower growth after the initial surge of demand for its blockbuster obesity drug, Wegovy, that briefly made the company Europe’s biggest by market value.
“Analysts will start to question both near-term and longer-term obesity expectations that have ballooned out of control,” said Jared Holz, a health-care strategist at Mizuho Securities USA LLC.
Holz and other analysts questioned whether an insider will be able to restore investor confidence. Given the company’s recent struggles, “we are surprised by the choice of an internal candidate,” said Benjamin Jackson, an analyst at Jefferies LLC.
Novo announced the ouster of former CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen in May, seeking a reset following a string of setbacks. Though Doustdar, 54, is an insider at Novo, he brings a more international background than some of the company’s previous leaders. He’s Iranian-born, with Austrian citizenship.
Novo’s past CEOs have all been Danish and were intertwined with the company prior to taking over. Two were sons-in-law of previous company leaders.
After enjoying an early advantage as a first mover in the obesity drug market, Novo is struggling with competition as Lilly’s Zepbound wins market share over Wegovy. Lilly also appears better positioned to dominate for years to come. It has an easy-to-take weight-loss pill that will come to market as soon as early 2026 and it’s studying a shot that’s shown signs of being as effective as bariatric weight-loss surgery.
Novo’s own next-generation candidate, CagriSema, has fallen short of both the company’s and analysts’ hopes in clinical trials.
The company is also facing competition from compounding pharmacies that are allowed to make copies of drugs when they are in short supply. Novo estimates about 1 million patients in the US are using compounders in the US market, Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen said on a call. Novo said it will fight compounding in the courts and invest in its own direct-to-patient marketing efforts.
Novo has said a new contract with CVS Health Corp. for Wegovy would drive volume from July 1.
The slashed forecast reflects competition for both Wegovy and its sister drug Ozempic for diabetes, the company said. The drugmaker also cited slower than expected market growth for weight-loss drugs.
Novo’s sales climbed 18 percent in constant currencies in the second quarter, the company said, with operating profit rising 40 percent. The company will publish complete second-quarter results on Aug. 6.
The foundation that controls the company pushed for Jorgensen to go and instated his predecessor, Lars Rebien Sorensen, as an observer on Novo’s supervisory board. Sorensen is set to return as a full board member next year.
By Naomi Kresge, with assistance from Christian Wienberg, Lisa Pham, Thomas Hall and Marthe Fourcade
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