Gross sales are booming for Novo Nordisk’s new weight reduction capsule.
In its first earnings report because the launch of a substitute for its hit GLP-1 shot, Novo Nordisk’s outlook is wanting a bit brighter. The corporate, which now makes Wegovy in capsule kind, raised its steering for the yr in gentle of the primary quarter’s success.
Novo reported 1.3 million prescriptions for its weight reduction capsule, which is now obtainable within the U.S., within the first quarter of 2026. The drugmaker plans to launch the capsule outdoors of the U.S. within the second half of the yr, increasing the brand new treatment’s attain significantly.
“The sturdy Wegovy efficiency, mixed with continued progress in Worldwide Operations, has led us to lift our 2026 steering for each adjusted gross sales and adjusted working revenue,” Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar stated within the report. Doustdar added that the corporate secured FDA approval for a high dose version of Wegovy, formulated for extra dramatic weight reduction, in March.
Novo beat its own expectations within the first quarter of the yr, reporting a 32% pop in gross sales on a continuing forex foundation and a 65% enhance in working revenue. The adjusted numbers are extra modest, with a 4% lower in gross sales and a 6% dip in working revenue, however that also beat the corporate’s projections.
In gentle of its quarter, Novo is forecasting adjusted gross sales and revenue declines of 4 to 12% for the yr, an enchancment to the earlier projection of 5 to 13%. The corporate’s shares perked up by greater than 5% on its newest numbers.
The corporate is optimistic that its capsule GLP-1 providing will widen the enchantment of its weight reduction medication somewhat than changing present customers of the injectable model. “It’s having not cannibalizations, however a synergetic impact,” CEO Mike Doustdar informed CNBC.
Capsule Stress
Novo’s inventory slumped dramatically over the course of the final yr, with the Danish drugmaker struggling to recapture the highs it loved in 2024, as GLP-1 drugs started to take off. In the meantime, American rival Eli Lilly’s shares have climbed steadily. Now, the corporate’s April release of its own weight loss pill, Foundayo, threatens Novo’s plans for a comeback.
The Danish drugmaker was first to market with its weight-loss drug Wegovy and that drug’s Sort 2 diabetes counterpart Ozempic, however Novo grew to become a sufferer of its personal success. Overwhelming demand led to manufacturing struggles, resulting in the rise of compounding pharmacies and giving Novo’s direct competitor area to make up misplaced floor. That dynamic allowed Eli Lilly to blow up into the market with its personal weight-management drug, Zepbound, and pushed the American drugmaker’s inventory to enviable highs.
To proper the ship, Novo Nordisk parted methods with its longtime CEO, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, final yr. Jørgensen, who steered the corporate into an unprecedented boom time for weight-loss medication, was changed with Novo Govt Vice President of Worldwide Operations Mike Doustdar in August.
Novo has its work minimize out for it, at the same time as the primary firm to introduce Individuals to a GLP-1 weight reduction capsule. With its early mover benefit shortly dissolving and aggressive price cuts digging into its backside line, the Danish drugmaker might want to show that it will possibly sustain out there it created. “The numbers with the capsule converse for themselves,” Doustdar told CNBC.
