Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) beat first-quarter profit forecasts and slightly raised its full-year outlook on Wednesday, supported by stronger-than-expected sales of its new weight-loss pill as it aims to close the gap with U.S. rival Eli Lilly (LLY.N), News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Shares in the Danish pharmaceutical company rose 5.8% at 0913 GMT, putting them on track for their biggest daily gain so far this year.
Novo is relying heavily on its weight-loss pill to regain market share lost to Eli Lilly in the United States and to offset increasing price competition in the obesity drug market.
The company also plans to launch the Wegovy pill in its first markets outside the U.S. in the second half of 2026.
The company reported adjusted operating profit of 32.86 billion Danish crowns ($5.16 billion), exceeding the 28.74 billion forecast in a company-compiled poll.
Novo slightly improved its full-year guidance, now expecting adjusted sales and operating profit declines of 4% to 12% at constant exchange rates, compared with a previous forecast range of minus 5% to minus 13%. By comparison, Eli Lilly last week raised its own annual profit and revenue forecasts by a larger margin.
Under CEO Mike Doustdar, Novo is banking on its new pill to drive near-term recovery after last year’s price cuts to its Wegovy injection put pressure on margins.
However, its period as the only oral obesity pill available in the U.S. ended in early April after Eli Lilly secured FDA approval for its rival drug Foundayo, opening a new phase in competition between the two pharmaceutical giants.
“We have now been competing with our competitor for about a month...and so far, so good,” CEO Mike Doustdar told journalists on a call.
Total prescriptions for the Wegovy pill reached about 1.3 million in the first quarter and more than 2 million since its January launch, which Doustdar said made it the strongest GLP-1 launch by volume in the United States. He added that the company was not seeing significant “drop-offs” among patients who started using the new pill.
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