Not so long ago, Novo Nordisk was the most valuable company in Europe thanks to sales of the drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which proved to be miracle weight-loss injections. At the beginning of summer 2024, the Danish pharmaceutical company was worth more than the companies of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH and the Dutch chip manufacturer ASML. In fact, Novo Nordisk earned so much money that the Novo Foundation, which owns part of the company, became one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the world, on par with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, created by the founder of Microsoft. Given this boom, the pharmaceutical company's decline over the last two years is all the more striking. This fall is clearly reflected on the stock market: on June 25, 2024, the company's shares reached a peak of €113, but now the price has dropped by almost 70%. The Danish pharmaceutical company's latest stock market plunge occurred last week, when its shares fell 18% in a single day, coinciding with the release of its 2025 financial results and sales forecasts for this year. According to the company's results, Novo Nordisk continues to be very profitable (€13.7 billion, up 1.4% year-on-year, and sales of €41 billion, a 6.4% increase). However, the outlook for the future exacerbates the pharmaceutical company's crisis, as it forecasts a revenue decline of between 5% and 13% by 2026. This decline represents the first drop in annual sales since 2017, before the company began selling the drug Ozempic. In response to this announcement, Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen admitted that it was a "very disappointing" forecast. Thus, the year has not started well for the company. The company had made a big bet earlier this year on launching a weight-loss pill with the same active ingredient, semaglutide, as the popular drug Wegovy, which, however, is injected. But less than two days later, a pharmaceutical imitation of this drug, manufactured by the American company Hims & Hers Health, appeared on the market, priced at $49 for the first month and $99 for subsequent months, while the drug manufactured by Novo Nordisk sells for $149.

Just two years ago, the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk was the most valuable company in Europe (around €600 billion), and its growth seemed limitless thanks to sales of its drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Originally intended for diabetes, these drugs turned out to be miracle injections for losing appetite and losing weight, causing the Danish company to multiply its value fivefold in just five years.

Semaglutide drugs—which mimic a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels and are used for diabetes and obesity—became a target of the pharmaceutical industry and have ultimately ended up being prescribed in clinics and dispensed by pharmacies as one of the most effective tools. However, the ease with which they are discontinued prematurely is beginning to worry endocrinologists. A study conducted in Denmark (where the pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk manufactures) warns that half of semaglutide users discontinue treatment within a year.

Kalundborg (17,000 inhabitants) looks like any other Danish industrial town, where very little happens. Located 95 kilometres from Copenhagen, it has a freight port, most of the houses are single-family homes and on the main street there are a couple of clothes shops, hairdressers and a few cafés.