Novo Nordisk Balances US Listing Ambitions Against an Ambitious Pipeline Roadmap

CEO Mike Doustdar says Novo Nordisk is open to a direct NYSE listing while targeting five new medicines and DKK 150bn revenue by 2035.

Novo Nordisk's leadership used a single week to sketch out two very different horizons for the Danish drugmaker: a possible structural overhaul of where its shares trade, and a product roadmap stretching to 2035. Speaking to the Financial Times in an interview published Wednesday, CEO Mike Doustdar said the company is fundamentally open to a direct primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange, a move that would retire its current American Depositary Receipts. The stock added 0.8% in pre-market trading, reaching EUR 34.73.

The rationale rests on a shareholder base that has drifted steadily away from Scandinavia over the past two decades. More than half of Novo Nordisk's total revenue now comes from the United States, which also accounts for the bulk of sales of diabetes and obesity treatments such as Wegovy and Ozempic. Swapping ADRs for directly traded ordinary shares on Wall Street could smooth access for institutional American investors — a path British rival AstraZeneca already took earlier this year.

Doustdar was quick to temper expectations, though. While he sees clear advantages in a direct US listing, he said the company is not actively pursuing the option in day-to-day operations. The NYSE question has circulated internally for years, but since he took the chief executive role last year there has been no active dialogue with exchange representatives. Copenhagen therefore remains Novo Nordisk's primary trading venue for the foreseeable future.

A Five-Drug Bet on the Next Decade

The listing debate lands as Novo Nordisk confronts sharper competition in the obesity and diabetes arena. According to LSEG data, sales of Eli Lilly's rival Zepbound are expected to outpace Wegovy by more than USD 7 billion this year. The share price reflects that pressure — it currently sits 37% below its 52-week high.

Against that competitive squeeze, Doustdar used Monday's capital markets day to lay out a long-term growth strategy centered on bringing at least five new medicines with multi-blockbuster potential to market by 2030. The company aims to serve more than 60 million patients worldwide, and to meet demand for oral obesity therapies in particular, it plans to expand its own manufacturing capacity tenfold by the end of the decade. Management also intends to push at least five oral drug candidates into clinical testing before this year is out.

Revenue from the product pipeline is projected to exceed DKK 150 billion by 2035, part of a deliberate effort to broaden the company's earnings base. In Tuesday's trading, the stock slipped 1.2% to EUR 34.06.

CagriSema Leads a Crowded Pipeline

The combination therapy CagriSema anchors the plans, with a market launch targeted for early 2027. In the Phase 3 REIMAGINE 5 trial, the drug produced 12.4% weight loss in adults with type 2 diabetes after 60 weeks, compared with 9.1% for a tirzepatide comparator group. A high-dose version and Cagrilintide as a standalone treatment are slated for 2028, followed by the active ingredient Zenagamtide.

Beyond its core metabolic franchise, Novo Nordisk is widening its reach into other indications. The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive recommendation in mid-September for the hemophilia A treatment FREHEMGO, with launches in the first European countries planned for the fourth quarter.

Analysts Stay Cautious as Buybacks Continue

Market reaction to the ambitious plans has been mixed. Jefferies reaffirmed its "Hold" rating on Monday while trimming its price target to DKK 275 from DKK 285, underscoring lingering caution about near-term momentum.

Alongside its product investments, Novo Nordisk is reinforcing its shareholder base through its own balance sheet. Under its ongoing buyback program, the company had repurchased B shares worth roughly DKK 9.6 billion through September 18, giving it treasury holdings equal to 1.1% of total share capital. To secure future growth, the Danish group is also casting a wider net beyond acquisitions, leaning increasingly on oral tablet therapies expected to capture a growing slice of the global obesity treatment market in the years ahead.