Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock was down premarket after the company missed on top and bottom lines of second quarter earnings Wednesday. The report comes just a week after the company announced a downward revision in its 2025 guidance.
The company barely missed on revenue, reporting $11.95 billion, compared to $11.97 billion expected by Wall Street. It also reported earnings per share (EPS) of $5.96, compared to estimates of $6.06 per share. The GLP-1 maker of diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy reported sales were up 16% year over year.
The two blockbuster drugs brought in revenue of $7.9 billion, or about two-thirds of the total reported in the quarter.
The company previously announced a reduction in sales growth, from 13%-21% to 8%-14% this year. It has been more acutely impacted by the ongoing sales of compounded weight-loss drugs, as its semaglutide ingredient has been widely copied. The company announced 14 new lawsuits Tuesday, adding to a total of 132 suits in 40 states, to shut down copycat practices.
Outgoing CEO Lars Jørgensen said compounding has been a key reason behind the company’s muted growth, despite it having had the first-to-market advantage a few years ago.
On a call early Tuesday, he repeated the claim that more than 1 million patients were on copycat versions of the drug.
“We’re talking about more than 1 million people using unauthorized … semaglutide knockoffs, mainly produced in China, not quality controlled in any shape or form, or approved by the FDA,” Jørgensen said.
But Novo also has a competition problem and a price threat problem as near-term headwinds.
Eli Lilly’s (LLY) new patient prescriptions represent about 60% of the total market, despite Novo clinching a deal with CVS (CVS) to be the sole weight-loss drug on the formulary. In addition, Novo’s drugs, including Ozempic, will be facing price negotiations next year for Medicare.
Most recently, an additional form of negative pressure arrived in a letter from President Trump. Novo was one of 17 companies that received a letter demanding that Novo Nordisk provide the lowest price it offers to developing countries to the Medicaid population.
Jørgensen said that Medicaid enrollees are already receiving some of the lowest prices — lower than in Europe.
He did not respond to the letter’s demand that direct-to-consumer lower cash pricing be available to all patients but noted that Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer platform, NovoCare, has had 10% market penetration since launching in March.
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, provider services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee as AnjKhem on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.
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