Novo Nordisk Licenses Two Drug Candidates While Cutting 108 US Jobs and Facing an FDA Hold-Up

Novo Nordisk licensed Hengrui's HRS-1596 and Nanexa's PharmaShell, while FDA review of Denecimig stays open and CFRA cut the stock to Sell.

Novo Nordisk has moved on two licensing fronts within days of each other, committing substantial sums to early-stage science even as it trims headcount at its American headquarters and waits on US regulators.

The Danish drugmaker secured worldwide rights outside Greater China to an experimental oral compound, HRS-1596, from Hengrui Pharma on 29 September. The deal carries a $300 million upfront payment, up to $2.3 billion in milestone payments and subsequent royalties. Four days earlier, on 25 September, the company struck a global partnership with Nanexa covering the PharmaShell technology, which can be applied across as many as five development programmes. Nanexa stands to receive milestones of up to EUR 1.165 billion, of which EUR 615 million relates to upfront, development and approval steps.

Those outlays reflect a deliberate push to reduce reliance on any single product line by pulling new technologies in-house early. The strategy comes as the core business faces mounting pressure on several fronts.

FDA Review of Denecimig Slips

On the regulatory side, the US Food and Drug Administration's review of the haemophilia A treatment Denecimig remains open because of remediation work at a manufacturing site, according to Reuters. The agency has not set a new decision date. Novo Nordisk said the delay does not alter its financial outlook for 2026 and continues to target a US launch in the first half of 2027.

Meanwhile, a regulatory notice shows the company intends to eliminate 108 positions at its US headquarters in Plainsboro, New Jersey, by 31 December 2026.

Real-World Data Back Semaglutide

Against that operational backdrop, Novo Nordisk released a retrospective real-world analysis on 29 September covering 636,525 adults with type-2 diabetes. Dose escalation of semaglutide was associated with a 6% lower risk of major cardiovascular events than switching to tirzepatide. The company acknowledges the methodology cannot establish causality, but the statistical comparison offers practical arguments for clinicians.

Separately, on 30 September, Novo Nordisk presented data from the OCTANE study. Patients who switched from injectable therapies to the oral form of Wegovy lost an average of 4.1% of body weight over three months. The analysis draws on treatment data from the telemedicine platform Ro. Oral formats are a key strategic lever for the company, aimed at lowering barriers to injection therapy and reaching new patient groups while broadening its therapeutic portfolio.

CFRA Cuts to Sell

Sentiment on the equity remains subdued despite the clinical updates. On 22 September, research house CFRA downgraded Novo Nordisk's depositary receipts from Hold to Sell with a $38.00 price target, citing an unfavourable risk-reward profile and intensifying competition. CFRA also pointed to muted earnings growth over the coming years, though it flagged Wegovy tablets as an opportunity in the nearer term. Investors had already shown sensitivity to the company's long-term prospects: the shares fell noticeably after the preceding capital markets day as management's growth targets met with scepticism.

In pre-market trading on Tuesday, the stock held steady at EUR 33.69, up 0.7%. For the year to date, however, it remains down 23%.

JPMorgan Stays Neutral Ahead of Q3

Media reports indicate JPMorgan reaffirmed its Neutral rating on Novo Nordisk yesterday, keeping its price target at DKK 275. Analyst Richard Vosser noted the company could post strong third-quarter figures on 4 November. Attention now turns to that interim report, where both the progress of recently licensed projects and the financial trajectory are likely to draw scrutiny.