Shares in the Danish pharmaceutical group Novo closed 7.65 percent lower on Monday, after chief executive Mike Doustdar presented new long-term targets at the company’s capital markets day in London.
According to reporting by DR, Doustdar opened the event at 10 a.m. Danish time. He set out a series of strategic ambitions for the coming years, delivered with an optimistic tone.
Investors reacted while he was still on stage. The share price dropped around seven percent during his presentation and ended the day down 7.65 percent.
One of the central ambitions is to launch more than five so-called mega-blockbuster medicines before 2030. These are drugs that sell for several billion dollars a year each.
Novo expects the new medicines to generate combined sales of at least 150 billion kroner by 2035. The company presented the target as a way to replace revenue from products whose patents expire soon.
Patent expiries around 2030
Wegovy and Ozempic remain the company’s best-selling products. Their patents expire in the years around 2030, opening the market to intense competition from generic medicines.
Lars Skovgaard Andersen, investment strategist at Danske Bank, told DR that Novo must show it can create products able to take over. He pointed to what he described as extremely hard competition in the pharmaceutical sector.
The day had been described in advance as an important exam for the Austrian chief executive. Skovgaard Andersen assessed the performance as a 7 or an 8 on the old Danish 13-point grading scale, not a top mark.
He said it would be too strong to call the day a failure. Expectations ahead of the event had been very high, with many anticipating something major, according to his assessment.
Per the Danske Bank strategist, Novo presented milestones and estimates of what the company can achieve. That was not enough for investors, and professional investors in particular were not convinced about the company’s future.
Pressure ahead of the event
Skovgaard Andersen added that changing the company name and presenting a strategy is not sufficient on its own. He said Doustdar must deliver at the next earnings reports, where progress on the stated goals should be visible.
DR notes that Novo Nordisk has moved from years of strong growth rates and results to a series of setbacks. The share price has fallen by more than 70 percent since the summer of 2024.
The company recently shortened its name from Novo Nordisk to Novo. The obesity and diabetes drug maker is based in Bagsværd, north of Copenhagen.
