Novo to Launch 5 Blockbuster Drugs by 2030, Seeking to Reassure Investors

Novo Nordisk set a goal of launching at least 5 blockbuster drugs by 2030 and generating more than $23 billion in annual sales from its current pipeline by 2035.

According to BioPharma Dive on the 21st (local time), Novo Nordisk unveiled the strategic plan at its annual Capital Markets Day in London that day. The move is aimed at restoring investor confidence after the company ceded its lead in the obesity drug market to rival Eli Lilly.

The decline in Novo Nordisk’s market share has erased more than two-thirds of the company’s value over the past 2 years. Investor response to the announcement was muted, however. Shares fell another 8% during morning trading that day.

Some observers say planned drug launches, including the next-generation obesity drug CagriSema, may not deliver the immediate growth shareholders are seeking.

Novo Nordisk opened a new era in obesity treatment 12 years ago when liraglutide, a GLP-1 injection for diabetes, was approved as the obesity drug Saxenda. Weekly injections later gained popularity, and Eli Lilly overtook Novo Nordisk with the obesity drug Zepbound and the diabetes drug Mounjaro.

Eli Lilly’s rise has been partly driven by clinical data showing that Zepbound produces greater weight loss than Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. Novo Nordisk has disputed that claim.

CagriSema previously fell short of Zepbound in one clinical trial. Novo Nordisk presented new results that day showing CagriSema outperformed Zepbound in another trial, but the study compared it with the second-lowest dose of Eli Lilly’s drug.

Novo Nordisk also beat Eli Lilly to the launch of the first oral GLP-1 obesity drug but failed to capitalize on that lead. Eli Lilly responded with the approval of Foundayo a few months later, and sales of Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy fell short of Wall Street expectations from April through June.

As its share price fell, Novo Nordisk appointed Mike Doustdar as its new chief executive officer (CEO), revamped its board and cut 9,000 jobs. Ahead of the announcement, it partnered with artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic, changed its name and teamed up with startup Orbis Medicines. It also acquired 3 obesity drug candidates from another startup, Caliopro.

The near-term outlook remains uncertain, however. Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, will lose patent protection in the U.S. in 2032. Novo Nordisk expects its revenue growth rate from 2026 through 2030 to be similar to that of its competitors.

Aside from CagriSema, the only Novo Nordisk drug under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a hemophilia candidate. Most of its obesity pipeline is also in Phase 2 or earlier. Ziltivekimab, which had drawn attention as a heart disease treatment, recently encountered development setbacks.