COPENHAGEN, Feb 4 — Shares in the Danish pharmaceuticals group Novo Nordisk plunged Wednesday after the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy anti-obesity drugs warned of lower sales this year.

In early trading the stock was down 18 per cent at around 302 kronor (RM188) on the Copenhagen stock exchange.

The decline sheds nearly US$32 billion (RM125.8 billion)off the market value since yesterday for Novo Nordisk, one of Europe’s biggest companies by capitalisation.

Yesterday the company said 2025 sales had risen six percent to 309 billion kronor, below the eight to 11 per cent gain it had forecast as recently as November.

It also said it expected sales to slide by up to 13 percent this year as prices for the popular GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy fall in the key US market.

“Underlying guidance (a new and welcome initiative for the company) was for sales and operating profit to fall 5-13 per cent this year, causing the immediate erasing of much of the shares’ strong gains so far in 2026,” said Derren Nathan, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Donald Trump’s crusade on drug prices, patent expiration, and competition all had their part to play,” he added.

The company had nonetheless announced reason to cheer in December when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Wegovy to be administered in pill form for weight loss, instead of injections. — AFP

 Malay Mail – Money