Novo Nordisk Restructures Domestic Footprint as Oral Wegovy Pill Outpaces Rival

Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide outperforms Eli Lilly's drug in obesity trial, while the company halts Odense plant construction. Revenue surges 32%, and shares climb 25% in 30 days.

Novo Nordisk is accelerating on two fronts that appear contradictory: its clinical pipeline is delivering blockbuster results while it pulls back sharply on domestic manufacturing capacity. The Danish drugmaker has halted construction of a planned production facility in Odense, converting the site into a pure warehouse operation and cutting more than half of the 150 expected jobs. Site director Jesper Trebbien Andersen confirmed the decision to broadcaster TV2, signalling a fresh emphasis on efficiency over expansion at home.

The strategic retrenchment comes as fresh data from the Istanbul Obesity Congress strengthens the company’s hand in the obesity treatment race. Novo Nordisk presented a direct comparison of its oral semaglutide pill with Eli Lilly’s orforglipron and came out ahead. Patients on the Wegovy pill lost roughly three percentage points more body weight, and the risk of stopping treatment due to gastrointestinal side effects was almost 14 times lower with Lilly’s drug. In a preference survey, 84% of participants said they favoured the profile of Wegovy.

Certain patients responded particularly quickly to the oral therapy, shedding at least 10% of their weight within four months. By the end of the study period, the average weight loss reached 21.6%. The benefits extended beyond the scales: nearly 80% of participants with impaired mobility showed measurable gains in endurance and physical function, compared with only 43% in the placebo group.

A dedicated dataset for female patients highlighted further advantages. Pre-menopausal women with obesity lost on average 22.6% of their weight, and their risk of migraine and depression fell noticeably. For perimenopausal women with existing heart disease, the drug cut the risk of heart attack by 42% relative to placebo.

Financially, the picture is split. Adjusted net sales slipped 10% in the first quarter to 70.1 billion Danish kroner, weighed down by the emergence of semaglutide generics in India and a modest dent in earnings per share. Yet total revenue surged 32% to 96.8 billion kroner, illustrating the strength of the broader portfolio. Chief executive Mike Doustdar responded by raising the full-year outlook for both revenue and operating profit, betting on sustained demand for Wegovy and international growth.

Shareholders are already seeing rewards. A buyback programme of up to 15 billion kroner is underway; the first tranche concluded in early May. The next dividend will land on August 19. The Odense decision, though abrupt, appears to be part of a broader reorganisation of production capacity rather than a symptom of financial strain.

The stock has been pricing in the dual narrative. At around 40 euros, the shares have climbed 25% over the past 30 days, buoyed by the clinical data and the upgraded guidance. That rally has trimmed the year-to-date loss to roughly 10%, but the shares still stand 31% lower than a year ago and remain well below the 2019 peak of 70 euros. The current price also sits under a long-term resistance line at 42.43 euros.

With a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 13.6, Novo Nordisk trades at a discount to the pharmaceutical sector average. The latest clinical evidence, combined with a leaner domestic setup, should help stabilise that multiple — even as the company reshapes its manufacturing footprint at speed.