(BFM Stock Exchange) – The title of the pharmaceutical laboratory turned to the decline after the announcement of the departure of its director general, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who has been paying bad market performance of the group for a year. The action is losing ground this Friday, May 16.

Legend has it that the Vikings were never afraid of anything. The Copenhagen Stock Exchange has nevertheless gathered the eyebrows at the announcement (surprise) of the departure of the director general of Novo Nordisk, a company which represents 43% of its total market capitalization.

The pharmaceutical laboratory known for its anti-diabetes and anti-obsity drugs indicated in a press release that Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, head of the company since January 2017, would leave the group following a “mutual agreement” with the board of directors.

The company did not specify when it would leave exactly, explaining that it would still remain in controls while ensuring a “fluid transition with the new leadership”. The search for a successor began.

The NOVO Nordisk title turned to the decline following this announcement. The action lost 1% around 3:50 p.m. while OMX, the main index of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, fell 0.1%.

A little tension therefore but not a very strong market reaction either, in view of the thunderclap.

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The market performance in question

Something not necessarily usual in this type of situation, Novo Nordisk evokes the reasons which led the company to this decision. The laboratory thus quotes “the recent challenges (the group) has been confronted on the market” and “the evolution of the company’s action course since the middle of 2024”.

Since June 2024, the Novo Nordisk action collapsed by 58.8%. First European market capitalization a few months ago, the group abandoned its crown to the German SAP, now largely first. Novo is only fifth, also preceded by Hermès, ASML and LVMH.

The title was abused by a series of setbacks in the specialty at the origin of its stock market ascent, namely anti-obesity 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.

Competition of “copies”

Last week, the group was forced to lower its objectives due to “weaker penetration” of its anti-obeezing and anti-diabetes treatments in the United States, due to the impact of so-called “Compounded” GLP-1 treatments, what is called in French “magistral preparations”.

GLP-1 is a hormone that plays an important role in the treatment of blood sugar, and 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.

Towards better days?

“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, for its part, mentioned “illegal” treatments, which the group intends, without surprise, fight. The expansion of these species of copies of anti-obeezing drugs has limited prescriptions in the United States for Wegovy.

“To the surprise of Novo Nordisk, nearly a third of the American obesity market was won over by ‘Compounded’ drugs”, noted AlphaValue.

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.

“Now that Wegovy’s supply constraints have been resolved, competition from ‘Compounded’ should be limited for the rest of the year (after May 22, 2025) and beyond,” noted AlphaValue. Deutsche Bank abounds, judging that the volumes should start upwards, from the third quarter.