Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk to cut 9,000 jobs amid increased competition | Pharmaceuticals industry

The Danish maker of the weight-loss and diabetes medication Wegovy and Ozempic is to chop 9,000 jobs because it slashed its revenue forecast once more, amid fierce competitors from its US rival Eli Lilly.Novo Nordisk’s resolution to chop 11% of its international workforce of 78,400 is an try by the brand new chief govt, Mike Doustdar, to revive its fortunes.Gross sales of its blockbuster injection Wegovy have slowed sharply because it has misplaced floor to Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro jabs, in addition to cheaper variations by generic drugmakers, whereas the pharmaceutical sector faces the specter of focused US tariffs.The drugmaker stated that 5,000 of the job losses could be in its dwelling nation of Denmark. The share value rose by 2.1% by Wednesday afternoon as traders had been cheered by the associated fee savingsBooming gross sales of GLP-1 diabetes and weight problems medication in recent times had helped Novo Nordisk rise to change into Europe’s most beneficial firm, but it surely misplaced the title in March, solely briefly regaining it in June.Research have proven that Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro is simpler than Wegovy in decreasing weight. Each will be prescribed by NHS docs to sufferers with excessive medical want. Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic injection can also be obtainable on the NHS, as a remedy for kind 2 diabetes. It may be prescribed by non-public docs “off label” for weight reduction.The drugmaker estimates that the job cuts will reserve it 8bn kroner (£930m) a yr by 2026. Nevertheless, they are going to price 8bn kroner in one-off restructuring prices, prompting the corporate to chop its working revenue progress forecast for 2025 from 10%-16% to 4%-10%.They’re the primary main transfer by Doustdar, an Iranian-born Austrian-American businessman who took over final month from Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who had led the corporate since 2017 and hinted at redundancies final month.“It’s at all times tough to see proficient and valued colleagues go, however we’re satisfied that that is the correct factor to do for the long-term success of Novo Nordisk,” Doustdar stated. “We’d like a shift in our mindset and method in order that we will be quicker and extra agile.”Novo Nordisk has additionally had disappointing outcomes for its new weight problems drug, CagriSema, which did not outperform Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro in weight reduction in a late-stage medical trial.Gross sales have additionally been broken by “compounding” within the US, the place pharmacies make up weight-loss medicines from elements, a apply that was allowed throughout drug shortages however was formally ended by the US regulator just lately.Jørgensen stated final month that the generic, copycat market had “equal dimension to our enterprise” and that compounded variations of Wegovy had been bought at a “a lot lower cost level”.Financial institution of America analysts stated they now count on Novo Nordisk to problem a fourth revenue warning when it studies third-quarter leads to November, doubting the corporate can meet the highest finish of its gross sales forecast.skip previous publication promotionSign as much as Enterprise TodayGet set for the working day – we’ll level you to all of the enterprise information and evaluation you want each morningPrivacy Discover: Newsletters could include details about charities, on-line advertisements, and content material funded by outdoors events. For those who shouldn’t have an account, we’ll create a visitor account for you on theguardian.com to ship you this text. You may full full registration at any time. For extra details about how we use your information see our Privateness Coverage. We use Google reCaptcha to guard our web site and the Google Privateness Coverage and Phrases of Service apply.after publication promotionAlong with different European pharmaceutical corporations, Novo Nordisk additionally faces repeated threats from Donald Trump to impose sector-specific tariffs on imports from drugmakers that don’t transfer a few of their manufacturing to the US.Susannah Streeter, a Hargreaves Lansdown analyst, stated: “Novo Nordisk, which had grown fats on the spoils of its weight reduction medication, has been feeling the results of rivals marching into the area. Uncertainty over American tariffs has additionally been a threat that continues to forged a shadow over the trade. By changing into a leaner machine, Novo hopes to redirect extra funding to R&D to bolster its pipeline of merchandise.”Over the previous 5 years, Novo Nordisk went on a hiring spree, elevating worker numbers by 75% as its efficiency soared due to the worldwide recognition of its weight-loss medication, which customers inject themselves with as soon as per week.Eli Lilly paused UK orders for Mounjaro final month earlier than hefty value rises throughout all doses from 1 September, to stop inappropriate stockpiling of medicines, it stated.It elevated the UK record value by as much as 170% relying on the dose, though a reduction to suppliers has been secured that ought to restrict the affect on shoppers, amid a White Home push to get drugmakers to lift costs in Europe to allow them to chop excessive US costs.Mounjaro customers had been dismayed on the information, apprehensive they might be unable to proceed with the remedy.