The maker of Ozempic has been rocked by a boardroom exodus as it struggles to keep up with rivals.
Novo Nordisk chairman Helge Lund and six other directors are stepping down, which is also behind weight-loss drug Wegovy, after a dispute with its largest shareholder.
The shake-up comes as the Danish group faces fierce competition from US rival Eli Lilly, whose Mounjaro and Zepbound fat jabs are gaining market share. Novo shares fell 1.4 per cent, taking losses since last year’s peak to 65 per cent.
The company’s board has been embroiled in a dispute with its controlling shareholder, the non-profit Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Novo said yesterday it had failed to come to an agreement with the investor over the make-up of its board.
Lund, who is also due to step down as BP’s chairman after pressure from activist investors, said: ‘Following dialogue with the Novo Nordisk Foundation regarding the future composition of the board of directors, it has not been possible to reach a common understanding.’
Fat fight: Novo Nordisk Chairman Helge Lund (pictured) and six other directors are stepping down from the company following a dispute with its largest shareholder
He will officially leave at an extraordinary general meeting on November 14, when a new chairman will be appointed.
The foundation has proposed five candidates, including its head Lars Rebien Sorensen, who was the drug maker’s chief executive from 2000 through 2016.
Sorensen insisted that this was not a ‘coup’ and that he would step down in two to three years if selected.
But it is the latest episode of the foundation exercising control after it pushed for the resignation of Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, who was ousted from his position as chief executive in May.
Investors have been rattled this year after profit warnings following the rising popularity of Eli Lilly’s jabs.
Although Zepbound was launched more than two years after Wegovy, prescriptions of the Eli Lilly drug outstrip those of Novo’s blockbuster.
Zepbound is marketed as Mounjaro in the UK where it has been dubbed the ‘King Kong’ of slimming jabs.
Booming sales of Ozempic helped make Novo the most valuable listed company in Europe in 2024. It was worth around £460billion in June 2024 but is valued at around £140billion.
Denmark’s fiscal watchdog warned that Novo’s decline could further dampen consumer confidence in the country.
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