Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported a third-quarter sales increase for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy and lowered its full-year 2024 growth forecast.
The company's shares jumped early Wednesday and were last up 7.7% at 9:02 a.m. London time.
The Danish pharmaceutical giant said its third-quarter net profit reached 27.3 billion Danish kroner ($3.92 billion), above the general LSEG estimate of 26.95 billion Danish kroner.
Novo Nordisk added that Wegovy's third-quarter sales rose 79% year-on-year and amounted to 17.3 billion Danish crowns. This was above the 15.9 billion Danish crowns that analysts had expected, in accordance with a consensus prepared by the corporate, Reuters reported.
The company narrowed its full-year 2024 revenue growth forecast to 23% to 27% from 22% to twenty-eight% at constant exchange rates and tightened its operating profit growth forecast to 21% to 27%, up from the previously expected 20% to twenty-eight%, each at constant exchange rates.
The forecast reflected the corporate's expectations for sales growth in North America and internationally, driven largely by volume growth of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based treatments, Novo Nordisk said.
“Following unexpectedly high volume growth in recent years, including GLP-1 based products such as Ozempic and Wegovy, coupled with the expectation of continued volume growth and capacity constraints at some manufacturing sites, the outlook also reflects expected continued regular supply constraints and related Drug shortage reports for a range of products and regions,” she added.
Novo Nordisk added that it’s investing in capability each internally and externally to extend supply within the short and long run.
Regionally, Novo Nordisk's revenue in North America increased 22% yr over yr within the third quarter of 2024. Sales in the important thing US market rose 21% within the period, with GLP-1 volumes within the region increasing 15%.
“Novo Nordisk is the market leader with 53.9% in terms of total monthly prescriptions and 50.0% in terms of new brand prescriptions,” the corporate said.
The health titan has faced increasing competition, but has also received promising news in the burden loss space in recent months.
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said all doses of Wegovy were now available within the U.S., after previously noting that the bottom dose of Wegovy was briefly supply. The news was seen as a signal that Novo Nordisk's efforts to extend supplies of Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic are paying off.
Also in October, a study showed that Ozempic may reduce the danger of developing Alzheimer's disease, suggesting it could delay or prevent the memory-robbing condition.
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