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    Novo Nordisk

    Also known as Novo Nordisk A/S, NVO, Novo

    Novo Nordisk is a Danish healthcare company, founded in 1923, whose scientists developed liraglutide and semaglutide, the drugs behind Ozempic and Wegovy.[1][2] After sales growth in 2025, it expected 2026 adjusted sales to be flat or lower as realised prices fell.[3][4][5]

    Editor reviewedStrict sourcingUpdated GLP-1 and metabolic medicineHealth and medicineLife sciences
    Key facts

    Novo Nordisk is the company most associated with the GLP-1 era. Its scientists developed liraglutide and semaglutide. Novo scientist Lotte Bjerre Knudsen shared the 2024 Lasker award for that work.[2][6] Semaglutide was approved in the US for diabetes in 2017 and for weight loss in 2021.[2] It is headquartered in Denmark, was founded in 1923, and employed about 66,700 people in August 2026.[1]

    Products and evidence

    Novo sells semaglutide as Ozempic and Rybelsus and, for weight management, as Wegovy, the Wegovy pill and the higher-dose Wegovy HD.[7][8][9] Large outcome trials gave semaglutide evidence across the heart (SELECT), kidney (FLOW) and liver (ESSENCE).[10][11][12] Those trials led to US label expansions: cardiovascular risk reduction for Wegovy in March 2024, kidney disease in type 2 diabetes for Ozempic in January 2025, and accelerated approval for Wegovy in the liver disease MASH in August 2025.[13][14][15] Its phase 3 evoke trials in Alzheimer’s disease failed in November 2025.[16] Safety labelling has also grown: in June 2025 the EMA’s safety committee recommended listing NAION, a rare form of sudden vision loss, as a very rare side effect of semaglutide.[17]

    2025–2026 results

    Novo’s 2025 sales rose 10% at constant exchange rates to DKK 309.1 billion, and obesity care sales rose 31%.[3] Its full-time workforce fell 10% during 2025, to 68,794.[18] For 2026 it first guided to declining adjusted sales. In August 2026 it raised that outlook to between 0% and -6% at constant exchange rates, citing higher expected GLP-1 sales.[4] Novo has said lower realised prices, from the US most-favoured-nation agreement and from loss of semaglutide exclusivity in Canada and some other markets, weigh on results.[5]

    The Wegovy pill has grown quickly. Launched in the US on 5 January 2026, it passed 265,000 weekly US prescriptions by mid-July. It was approved in the EU in July 2026.[19][20][21]

    Pipeline and competition

    Novo’s next-generation candidate cagrisema is under FDA review, with a decision expected by late 2026. It missed non-inferiority against Lilly’s tirzepatide in the REDEFINE 4 trial.[22][23] Tirzepatide also outperformed semaglutide in the SURMOUNT-5 head-to-head trial.[24]

    Novo is also developing CagriSema for type 2 diabetes. In REDEFINE 2, people with diabetes lost 13.7% of body weight at 68 weeks versus 3.4% on placebo.[25] In REIMAGINE 3, added to basal insulin, it cut HbA1c by up to 2.33 percentage points versus 0.66 with placebo.[26] On 21 September 2026 Novo reported topline results from two trials of a lower 1.0 mg/1.0 mg dose. CagriSema beat tirzepatide 5 mg on weight loss in type 2 diabetes in REIMAGINE 5 (12.4% vs 9.1%), and produced 21.0% weight loss versus 2.0% with placebo in REDEFINE 9.[27] Competition is widening: Pfizer bought Metsera in November 2025 to enter the field.[28]

    Policy exposure

    Novo is a party to the November 2025 White House pricing agreement. It sets Medicare prices for Ozempic and Wegovy at $245 a month and TrumpRx prices at $350.[29] Semaglutide also has a Medicare-negotiated price of $274 per 30 days, effective 2027.[7] Novo says the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, live since 1 July 2026, covers a majority of beneficiaries.[30]

    Questions readers ask

    Who runs Novo Nordisk?

    Maziar Mike Doustdar is chief executive officer, according to the company's 2026 SEC filings.[31]

    Why did Novo Nordisk expect lower sales in 2026?

    Novo cited lower realised prices from the US most-favoured-nation agreement and from loss of semaglutide exclusivity in Canada and some other markets. In August 2026 it raised its outlook to adjusted sales growth of 0% to -6%, citing stronger GLP-1 demand.[5][4]

    How has the Wegovy pill performed?

    Launched in the US on 5 January 2026, it passed 265,000 weekly US prescriptions by mid-July 2026 and more than 5 million in total.[19][20]

    Has CagriSema beaten tirzepatide?

    Only at a low tirzepatide dose. Novo reported in September 2026 that CagriSema 1.0 mg/1.0 mg produced 12.4% weight loss versus 9.1% with tirzepatide 5 mg in type 2 diabetes (topline data). Against tirzepatide 15 mg in REDEFINE 4 it missed non-inferiority.[27][23]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      Novo Nordisk is a Danish healthcare company founded in 1923 that employed about 66,700 people as of August 2026. confirmedas of 2026-08-04

    2. [2]

      Novo Nordisk scientists developed liraglutide and then semaglutide, whose half-life was extended about two-thousand-fold, allowing once-weekly injection; semaglutide was approved in the US for diabetes in 2017 and for weight loss in 2021. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    3. [3]

      Novo Nordisk's 2025 sales grew 10% at constant exchange rates to DKK 309.1 billion, with obesity care sales up 31% to about DKK 82.3 billion. confirmedas of 2026-02-03

    4. [4]

      On 4 August 2026 Novo Nordisk raised its 2026 outlook to adjusted sales growth of 0% to -6% at constant exchange rates, from -4% to -12%, citing higher expected GLP-1 sales. confirmedas of 2026-08-04

    5. [5]

      Novo Nordisk reported that loss of exclusivity for semaglutide in Canada and certain other international markets, together with the US most-favoured-nation agreement, lowered its realised prices in 2026. confirmedas of 2026-08-04

    6. [6]

      Joel Habener and Svetlana Mojsov identified GLP-1 (7-37) as the physiologically active form of the hormone in 1987, work recognised with the 2024 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award shared with Novo Nordisk scientist Lotte Bjerre Knudsen. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    7. [7]

      Under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, CMS set a negotiated 30-day price of $274 for Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, against a 2024 list price of $959, effective 1 January 2027. confirmedas of 2025-11-25

    8. [8]

      On 22 December 2025 the FDA approved the Wegovy pill (once-daily oral semaglutide 25 mg), the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for weight management, including to reduce cardiovascular risk. confirmedas of 2025-12-22

    9. [9]

      The FDA granted accelerated approval to a 7.2 mg dose of injectable semaglutide (Wegovy HD) in March 2026 under the Commissioner's National Priority Voucher pilot, and Novo Nordisk launched it in the US on 7 April 2026. confirmedas of 2026-08-04

    10. [10]

      In the SELECT trial of 17,604 adults aged 45 or older with cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity but no diabetes, semaglutide 2.4 mg reduced cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke to 6.5% versus 8.0% on placebo (hazard ratio 0.80). confirmedas of 2023-11-11

    11. [11]

      In the FLOW trial of 3,533 people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, semaglutide lowered the risk of major kidney events or kidney- or cardiovascular-related death by 24% (hazard ratio 0.76); the trial stopped early at a prespecified interim analysis after a median 3.4 years of follow-up. confirmedas of 2024-05-24

    12. [12]

      In part 1 of the ESSENCE trial in people with MASH and moderate or advanced liver fibrosis, steatohepatitis resolved without worsening fibrosis in 62.9% on semaglutide versus 34.3% on placebo at 72 weeks, in a planned interim analysis of the ongoing 240-week trial based on liver histology. confirmedas of 2025-04-30

    13. [13]

      On 8 March 2024 the FDA approved Wegovy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke in adults with cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight, the first weight-loss medicine with such an indication. confirmedas of 2024-03-08

    14. [14]

      On 28 January 2025 the FDA expanded Ozempic's label to reduce kidney and cardiovascular risks in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. confirmedas of 2025-01-28

    15. [15]

      In August 2025 the FDA granted Wegovy accelerated approval for noncirrhotic MASH with moderate to advanced (F2 to F3) liver fibrosis. confirmedas of 2025-08-15

    16. [16]

      On 24 November 2025 Novo Nordisk reported that the evoke and evoke+ trials in 3,808 adults with early Alzheimer's disease did not show that semaglutide slowed disease progression, although Alzheimer's biomarkers improved. confirmedas of 2025-11-24

    17. [17]

      In June 2025 the EMA's safety committee recommended listing NAION, a form of sudden vision loss, as a very rare side effect of semaglutide medicines, affecting up to 1 in 10,000 people. confirmedas of 2025-06-06

    18. [18]

      Novo Nordisk had 68,794 full-time employees at the end of 2025, 10% fewer than a year earlier. confirmedas of 2026-02-03

    19. [19]

      Novo Nordisk launched the Wegovy pill in the US on 5 January 2026. confirmedas of 2026-02-03

    20. [20]

      By mid-July 2026, US weekly prescriptions for the Wegovy pill exceeded 265,000, with more than 5 million prescriptions since launch. confirmedas of 2026-08-04

    21. [21]

      The Wegovy pill received a positive CHMP opinion in May 2026 and EU approval in July 2026, and launched in the UK in July 2026. confirmedas of 2026-08-04

    22. [22]

      Novo Nordisk submitted CagriSema to the US FDA in December 2025 based on REDEFINE 1 and 2, with a decision anticipated by late 2026. confirmedas of 2026-09-21

    23. [23]

      On 23 February 2026 Novo Nordisk reported that CagriSema failed to show non-inferiority to tirzepatide 15 mg in the open-label REDEFINE 4 trial, with weight loss of 20.2% versus 23.6% at 84 weeks under the treatment-regimen estimand. confirmedas of 2026-02-23

    24. [24]

      In the open-label SURMOUNT-5 trial, people with obesity but without diabetes lost a mean 20.2% of body weight on tirzepatide versus 13.7% on semaglutide at 72 weeks. confirmedas of 2025-05-11

    25. [25]

      In REDEFINE 2, 1,206 adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity lost a mean 13.7% of body weight at 68 weeks on CagriSema versus 3.4% on placebo, and 73.5% reached HbA1c of 6.5% or less versus 15.9%. confirmedas of 2025-06-22

    26. [26]

      In REIMAGINE 3, CagriSema added to basal insulin in type 2 diabetes lowered HbA1c by 2.33 and 2.10 percentage points at the 2.4 mg and 1.0 mg doses versus 0.66 with placebo at 40 weeks, with 10-12% weight reduction and no severe hypoglycaemia. confirmedas of 2026-06-07

    27. [27]

      Novo Nordisk reported topline results on 21 September 2026 in which CagriSema 1.0 mg/1.0 mg produced 12.4% weight loss versus 9.1% with tirzepatide 5 mg in type 2 diabetes (REIMAGINE 5), and 21.0% versus 2.0% with placebo in obesity (REDEFINE 9). reportedas of 2026-09-21

    28. [28]

      Pfizer completed its acquisition of obesity-drug developer Metsera on 13 November 2025 at about $7.0 billion enterprise value plus contingent payments tied to its monthly injectable GLP-1 candidate MET-097i and amylin analogue MET-233i. confirmedas of 2025-11-13

    29. [29]

      Under a 6 November 2025 agreement announced by the White House with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, Medicare prices for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound were set at $245 a month with a $50 monthly copay for beneficiaries, and Ozempic and Wegovy at $350 through the TrumpRx website. confirmedas of 2025-11-06

    30. [30]

      Novo Nordisk reported that the Bridge programme began on 1 July 2026 and covers a majority of Medicare beneficiaries, and Lilly reported Foundayo and Zepbound coverage under it. confirmedas of 2026-08-05

    31. [31]

      Maziar Mike Doustdar is Novo Nordisk's chief executive officer. confirmedas of 2026-08-04

    Revision history (2)
    1. Page created.
    2. Refresh: added semaglutide label expansions, the NAION safety label, CagriSema diabetes trials and September 2026 REIMAGINE 5 and REDEFINE 9 topline results.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

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