Novo Nordisk: Growth, Caution

Novo Nordisk ended 2025 with higher sales, but its 2026 forecast turned more cautious as obesity-drug growth runs into pricing pressure and tougher competition. (annualreport.novonordisk.com) The Danish drugmaker said 2025 sales rose 10% at constant exchange rates to 309.1 billion Danish kroner, while operating profit rose 13% at constant exchange rates to 128.2 billion kroner. Obesity-care sales climbed 31% at constant exchange rates to 82.3 billion kroner. (annualreport.novonordisk.com) For 2026, Novo Nordisk told investors to expect lower growth than the market had grown used to, citing current prescription trends in its injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 portfolio, intensifying competition, and weaker obesity-drug coverage in parts of the United States. The company’s annual report says it plans to keep rolling out Wegovy in more markets during 2026 and to introduce the 7.2 milligram dose in a number of countries. (annualreport.novonordisk.com) Obesity drugs are the engine here. Novo Nordisk said global branded glucagon-like peptide-1 obesity-market volumes grew 104% in 2025, and it held a 59.6% branded volume share, even as Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide added pressure across diabetes and obesity. (annualreport.novonordisk.com) The diabetes side looks less dominant than it once did. Novo Nordisk said its global diabetes value share fell 3.6 percentage points over 12 months to 30.1% in 2025, with losses in both United States and international operations. (annualreport.novonordisk.com) Novo Nordisk is also trying to widen the semaglutide franchise beyond the standard Wegovy dose. On March 19, 2026, it announced United States approval for Wegovy HD, a 7.2 milligram version that the company said produced 20.7% mean weight loss. (novonordisk.com) Access is part of the strategy now, not just efficacy. Novo Nordisk said it introduced a $199-a-month introductory self-pay offer in November 2025 for the first two Wegovy or Ozempic doses for new cash-paying patients through March 31, 2026, then lowered the standard monthly self-pay price to $349. (annualreport.novonordisk.com) The company has also pushed more direct distribution in the United States. In its annual report, Novo Nordisk said it was expanding the NovoCare direct-to-patient platform, adding telehealth partnerships, and securing retail-pharmacy agreements including CVS to improve continuity of care. (annualreport.novonordisk.com) Beyond obesity and diabetes, Novo Nordisk is still testing whether semaglutide can do more. ClinicalTrials.gov shows EVOKE Plus, its phase 3 oral semaglutide study in early Alzheimer’s disease, was marked completed on March 27, 2026, after enrolling 1,840 participants, with no results posted yet. (clinicaltrials.gov) That leaves Novo Nordisk in a different position from the one investors saw a year ago: still a giant in obesity drugs, still growing, but spending 2026 on price, access, and line extensions as much as on pure volume. (annualreport.novonordisk.com)