Novo Nordisk A/S sales surged in the third quarter as demand continued unabated for its obesity and diabetes blockbusters.
Revenue rose 38% to 58.73 billion kroner ($8.3 billion) excluding some items, the Danish drugmaker said Thursday, beating analysts’ estimates. Operating profit rose 47% during the period.
Novo has vaulted into the limelight as Wegovy and another related medicine for diabetes, Ozempic, proved they could help people shed unwanted weight by curbing their appetite. Wegovy sales hit nearly 10 billion kroner during the period, ahead of expectations even as it continues to battle with supply issues.
About 95% of sales of Wegovy are in the US, where the pharma group is struggling to keep up with demand. While the company is investing to boost supply capacity, it still expects to periodically face constraints and shortages in the US and elsewhere. For now, it’s restricting starter doses for Wegovy — which can help overweight people lose about 15% of their body weight — to safeguard supplies for people in the US who are already on the medicine, the company said.
Sales of Novo’s treatments for diabetes, including Ozempic, Rybelsus and Victoza rose by nearly 50% during the period.
The drugs’ success has sparked something of a gold rush in the pharma industry, and some analysts predict this class of treatments could become one of the biggest-ever blockbusters.
“Overall a strong set of numbers from Novo Nordisk - driven by Wegovy,” Brian Godsk Borsting, a credit analyst at Danske Bank A/S, said in a note. “Nordisk is investing in production capacity to boost supply of Wegovy both short and long term but still sees supply constraints. The coming years will benefit further from a wider launch of Wegovy in various markets.”
About 40 companies are chasing after Novo to grab a share of the market, led by Eli Lilly & Co., which expects to get US approval to use its Mounjaro diabetes drug to treat obesity this year.
Novo earlier this month raised its outlook for revenue and profit for a third time, saying operating profit may jump by as much as 46%, fueled by Wegovy and Ozempic sales. The injected medicines share the same active ingredient and work by suppressing patients’ appetite as well as slowing the movement of food through the digestive tract.
Novo’s stock has almost doubled in the past two years, overtaking other European behemoths like Nestle, L’Oreal and luxury-goods giant LVMH to become Europe’s most valuable company.
(Updates with info on Wegovy supply constraints and analyst commment from third paragraph.)
