With as much as $17 billion in sales in 2024 and over $10 billion in the first half of 2025, it shows no signs of slowing down, much to the delight of its Danish manufacturer, Novo Nordisk A/S ( NYSE: NVO). This Scandinavian economic behemoth is one of the highest-valued companies in Europe at over $500 billion, which exceeds Denmark's entire gross domestic product.
The Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the maker of GLP-1 for diabetes and obesity, announced it is reducing its workforce globally by 9,000 people by the end of 2026. A company spokesperson declined to provide specific figures for the Boston operations, stating that "this is a global transformation," and Novo Nordisk sites will each be impacted differently. The company has not yet finalized its plans for Boston.
Despite ushering in the weight-loss injectable craze and reaching a whopping $604 billion market cap in March 2024, Novo has for the past 18 months suffered hit after financial hit as compounding companies cut into its profit margin by selling cheaper, off-brand Ozempic - and as Eli Lilly, the makers of rival jabs Mounjaro and Zepbound, surged ahead thanks to promising news about its orforglipron GLP-1 pill.
Days earlier, Novo Nordisk cut its sales and profit forecast for the first time since the launch of Wegovy four years ago. Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk has pushed out CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen over concerns the company is losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive obesity drug market.
