Novo Nordisk, the maker of weight-loss drug Wegovy, reported a second-quarter adjusted operating profit above forecasts on Tuesday and raised its full-year profit and sales outlook. The Danish drugmaker is battling to claw back lost ground on Eli Lilly LLY.N in the lucrative obesity drug market, as investors look for signs its turnaround can last and its new Wegovy pill can support longer-term growth. Novo, a key driver of Denmark’s economy, reported an adjusted operating profit of 33.4 billion Danish crowns (US$5.15 billion) in the quarter, up 11 per cent year-on-year, against a mean forecast of 28.74 billion from a company-compiled poll. Novo said the change in this year’s adjusted sales and operating profit were now seen in a range of zero to minus 6 per cent at constant exchange rates compared with 2025, up from a previous range of minus 12 per cent to minus 4 per cent for both variables. CEO Mike Doustdar took the helm at Novo a year ago, seeking to steady a group battered by repeated sales shortfalls, a collapse in market value and a wave of job cuts, leaning heavily on the newly launched Wegovy pill to drive a recovery. Novo is now looking to go more on the offensive. The firm sued Eli Lilly in a U.S. federal court last month, accusing its American rival of false advertising. Lilly has denied any wrongdoing, saying it stands by its advertising. The lawsuit is the latest front in a rivalry that has come to define the obesity drug market, which some analysts expect to be worth more than US$100 billion a year by 2030. Lilly still leads in the U.S. market for injectable weight-loss drugs, and investors are watching for signs Novo can compete beyond its current medicines through new pipeline results, deals or a sustained recovery in prescriptions. The adjusted earnings excluded 6.3 billion crowns in non-recurring, non-cash impairment charges in the second quarter related to intangible pipeline assets, including 4.0 billion related to monlunabant an oral experimental obesity drug. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Maggie Fick, editing by Terje Solsvik)
