A statement from an industry giant has shocked the global pharmaceutical industry. On the 21st, Novo Nordisk... Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced that Chairman Helge Lund, along with six directors (including five independent directors), will resign collectively after the extraordinary general meeting on November 14. This is due to a failure to reach an agreement between the Novo Nordisk board and the foundation on matters such as the future composition of the board. Facing Eli Lilly... (LLY) The competitive pressure from telpoeptide and future competitors has led to multiple changes in Novo Nordisk's leadership this year, including layoffs and the termination of pipelines in areas such as cell therapy... Can Novo Nordisk regain its former glory in the future?
On the 21st, Danish weight loss drugs Novo Nordisk announced that Chairman Helge Lund, Vice Chairman Henrik Poulsen, and independent directors Laurence Debroux, Andreas Fibig, Sylvie Grégoire, Christina Law, and Martin Mackay will not seek re-election at the extraordinary general meeting. Kasim Kutay (a non-independent director) and employee-elected directors Elisabeth Dahl Christensen, Liselotte Hyveled, Mette Bjer Jensen, and Thomas Rantzau will remain on the board.
Regarding the reason for the collective resignation of the seven directors, Chairman Helge stated that it was due to "the failure to reach a consensus after discussions with the Novo Nordisk Foundation regarding the future composition of the board. The board proposed to maintain continuity while updating the board by electing members with specific new capabilities, while the Foundation's board preferred a broader restructuring. After in-depth deliberation, and taking into account the Foundation's position and its control over a majority of Novo Nordisk's voting rights, the board concluded that, in the best interests of the company and its shareholders, a special shareholders' meeting should be convened to elect new board members to provide clarity for Novo Nordisk's future governance."
In a subsequent announcement, the company stated that it would hold an extraordinary general meeting on November 14, where the Novo Nordisk Foundation proposed to elect Lars Rebien Srensen as Chairman of the Board, Cees de Jong as Vice Chairman of the Board, and Britt Meelby Jensen, Mikael Dolsten, and Stephan Engels as members of the Board.
In fact, this is not Novo Nordisk's first major personnel change this year. On May 16, Novo Nordisk announced that Lars Fruergaard Jrgensen would be stepping down as CEO. The company stated that the adjustment was made "given the recent market challenges Novo Nordisk has faced and the volatility of the company's share price since mid-2024." Lars Fruergaard Jrgensen was appointed CEO of Novo Nordisk in January 2017. Following his departure, Mike Doustdar succeeded him as the new Global President and CEO in August of this year.
On the other hand, just last month, Novo Nordisk announced an internal restructuring and planned to lay off 9,000 employees to save 8 billion Danish kroner (approximately US$1.26 billion) annually. The company also stated that it faces increasing competitive pressure from its main U.S. rival , Eli Lilly . According to Danish media outlet Borsen, Novo Nordisk is deciding to terminate all cell therapy-related work, laying off almost all of the nearly 250 employees in that division.
In terms of performance, in Q1 2025, the company's Smegglutide product became the world's top-selling drug with global sales of US$7.864 billion. However, according to the 2024 annual report, Eli Lilly's weight loss drug telpotide generated revenue of US$16.847 billion, an increase of 86.6% year-on-year. This drug acts on two targets and has a better weight loss effect.
At the end of July, facing the dual challenges of "compound generic drugs" and strong competition from Eli Lilly's telposide, Novo Nordisk lowered its 2025 performance guidance, expecting sales to grow by 8% to 14% this year at constant exchange rates, lower than the 13% to 21% target announced in May; operating profit is expected to grow by 10% to 16%, compared to the previously planned increase of 16% to 24%.
Novo Nordisk has continued its efforts in the field of metabolic diseases this year. On October 9th, the company announced its acquisition of US biopharmaceutical company Akero Therapeutics for a total transaction value of up to $5.2 billion. Akero focuses on developing therapies for patients with severe metabolic diseases. Akero is currently conducting late-stage trials of its drug efruxifermin (EFX), which is expected to complement Novo Nordisk's leading position in metabolic therapy. efruxifermin is currently in Phase III clinical development for the treatment of moderate to advanced liver fibrosis (F2 or F3) and cirrhosis (F4) caused by metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
(Article source: CLS)
