(BFM Stock Exchange) – The Danish company progresses after having listed slightly above expectations, despite a lowering of its prospects for the current exercise. The market expected this last decision. The company will also benefit in the coming months of the end of “copies” of its anti-obesity drugs.

European Star of the Stock Exchange in 2023, the Danish Novo Nordisk lost his superb, recently.

Its action has dropped by 27% since the start of the year and even 50% over a year. While it was still firmly hung at its headquarters of the largest European stock market company (in market capitalization), the pharmaceutical group has since sold this crown to the German company of professional software SAP. The latter has since dug the gap and now has a clear advance (around 50 billion euros) on Novo Nordisk.

The Danish company has undergone certain setbacks in the specialty at the origin of its stock market ascent, namely anti-obsity and anti-diabetes treatments. In December, its scholarship course had unscrewed by more than 20% after the communication of phase III test results (the last step before the potential marketing of a drug) disappointing for Cagrisema, a new anti-obeyity treatment.

Other clinical results, which occurred on March 10, still sealed the action. These results still concerned Cagrisema, and focused on a different population of patients (not just people in obesity and overweight but also in type 2 diabetes). The data communicated by Novo Nordisk had reported a weight loss of 13.7% against 3.4% for those treated by placebo when investors were waiting for a reduction rate of approximately 15%, according to Bank of America.

In parallel with these setbacks on clinical trials, its American competitor, Eli Lilly, obtained a major success. The company has published successful phase III clinical trials for OFORGLIPRON, an oral tablet to treat diabetes and obesity.

A drug described as “ozempic in pill”. Bank of America noted that all the lights were green, including weight loss of 8% in 40 days. “The ‘key’ of Orforglipron is that it is a drug with a small molecule ‘, which means that it is easy to put on the scale and to produce,” said the establishment.

Copies of anti-obsity drugs

It is in this little engaging context that the Danish company published its first quarter results which are well received by the market. The action thus took 2.3% at the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in the middle of the afternoon.

However, Novo Nordisk lowered his 2025 perspectives on the occasion of this publication. The company previously expected growth in its turnover (in Danish crowns), from 16% to 24% excluding exchange effects, and an increase in its operating profit from 19% to 27%.

The company now anticipates an increase between 13% and 21% for turnover and from 16% to 24% for operating profit.

Novo Nordisk explained that the lowering of these targets was due to “weaker penetration” of its anti-obsity and anti-diabetes treatments in the United States, due to the impact of so-called “Compounded” GLP-1 treatments, what is called in French “masterful preparations”.

GLP-1 is a hormone that plays an important role in the treatment of blood sugar, and notably influences the feeling of satiety. “GLP-1 treatments” contain analogues from GLP-1 to fight diabetes and obesity. This is the case, for example, of the Wegovy of Novo Nordisk which contains semaglutide as an analog.

“Compounded” treatments are, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), American health authority, drugs, drugs whose ingredients are mixed or altered to create a new treatment for specific needs. However, these drugs are not recognized by the FDA which has evaluated their safety or their effectiveness.

This type of medication is authorized when treatment appears on the list of FDA shortage medicines. This was for a while the case of the Wegovy of Novo Nordisk and the Zepbound of Eli Lilly, explains ABC News.

In fact, these “copies” of anti-obesity drugs were mainly produced to offer versions of these treatments at a lower cost and attract Americans who are unable to have access to these drugs, in particular because of their health insurance, notes the New York Times.

The FDA had also recently expressed concerns on the “Compounded” versions of anti-obesity drugs.

“The FDA is aware that some health and health professionals may turn to unprecedented versions of GLP-1 drugs (…), as an option for weight loss. This can be risky for patients, because unprepared versions are not subject to the FDA exam in terms of safety, efficiency and quality before being marketed,” she wrote in March.

Novo Nordisk evokes “illegal” treatments, which the group hears, without surprise.

A third of the market captured

It is therefore the expansion of these species of copies of anti-obesity drugs that lead the prospects of Novo Nordisk and limited prescriptions in the United States for Wegovy.

Cited by Reuters, the director general of Novo Nordisk, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, said that around a third of the American drug market had been “captured” by so -called “Compounded” medicines.

However, the FDA rang the end of recess, anti-obeessive drugs being no longer in charge of supply. The authority gave until May 22 to pharmacies that produced these “Compounded” versions to stop their manufacture.

Consequently, Novo Nordisk should regain growth in its prescriptions in the United States, anticipates Jorgensen.

The group will also benefit from a recent decision by the American CVS Health Pharmacies Society. The latter has agreed to distribute Wegovy more and to withdraw the competitor, the Zepbound of Eli Lilly, from its favored list of drugs.

To return to the results of Novo Nordisk, the publication of this Wednesday is, ultimately positive, judge, ubs.

The Swiss bank expects novo nortisk announcements to cause “relief” among investors.

The latter, according to her, had “widely” anticipated the lowering of objectives of Danish society. The company’s new forecasts are even higher than its own projections, namely 16% growth in income and 19% for operating profit. In other words, the evil is less strong than feared.

“We believe that the main debate (of the market, editor’s note) will focus on the way in which Novo Nordisk can reactive the commercial dynamics on the American obesity market and on the net price of Wegovy in the United States”, comments the Swiss bank “The gradual withdrawal of ‘COUMPOUDED’ from Sémaglutide ‘in the United States should also help, but investors are always interested in the speed with the speed ( drugs) will indeed leave the market, “explains UBS.

Novo Nordisk’s results have also generally defeated expectations in the first quarter, with a 4.3% operating profit in consensus and a profit per share which exceeded expectations, according to Oddo BHF. For their part, revenues were online with expectations, increased by the 15% growth in sales of Ozempic, the anti-diabetes drug.

At Wegovy level, income has certainly increased by 83% excluding exchange effects, but they were 7% lower than expectations, due, precisely the impact of “Compounded” drugs, Note Oddo BHF.