Novo Nordisk shares plunge over 7% as new targets fail to reassure investors

Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO), the Danish drugmaker, saw its US-listed shares fall over 7% to $39.82 on Monday after new long-term targets failed to ease investor concerns about competition in the weight-loss drug market.

The company said it aims to launch more than five multi-blockbuster drugs by 2030 and generate more than 150 billion Danish kroner (US$23 billion) in risk-adjusted pipeline sales by 2035, including current pipeline assets.

Novo also expects revenue growth between 2026 and 2030 to be in line with industry peers including Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Amgen, Biogen, Merck, AbbVie and Novartis.

Chief executive Mike Doustdar told investors at the company's Capital Markets Day in London that semaglutide, the active ingredient in the weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes medicine Ozempic, will face the loss of key patent exclusivity in the early 2030s.

The semaglutide patent expires in the United States in 2032, a market that accounted for more than half of Novo's overall sales last year.

"This loss of exclusivity is what's on most people's mind, and rightfully so," Doustdar said.

Doustdar also outlined plans to diversify the company, saying it did not "belittle" the loss of exclusivity or the pricing pressure that comes with it.

Adding to investor concerns, the experimental drug CagriSema delivered 23% weight loss in a Phase 3 trial, compared with 25.5% for Eli Lilly's tirzepatide, and failed to meet the trial's primary endpoint of demonstrating non-inferiority.

Semaglutide drives about 75% of Novo's 2026 sales, leaving the company exposed as key patents expire in major markets from 2030.

In the second quarter, Novo held roughly 39% of the obesity drug market, while Eli Lilly held about 61%.