The logo of Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company that makes the blockbuster diabetes and weight loss treatments Ozempic and Wigovy, is shown presenting its annual report at Novo Nordisk in Bagsvaer, Denmark, on February 5, 2025. (Photo courtesy of MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
Mads Klaus Rasmussen | AFP | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk’s controlling shareholder tightened its grip on the weight-loss drug maker on Friday, cementing a leadership shake-up at what was once Europe’s most valuable company, amid complaints from minority shareholders.
Novo has recently found itself in an increasingly turbulent situation, with its share price plummeting and investor confidence declining, calling its role as a leading player in the high-margin weight loss space into question.
The diabetes and weight loss drug maker has replaced the members of its independent board of directors, including Chairman Helge Lund, after it became impossible to reach an agreement between the current board and the board of directors of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the company’s majority shareholder. The intention to change the members was announced on October 21st.
Mr. Lund will be succeeded by company veteran Lars Levien Sørensen, who is already chairman of the foundation board. The 71-year-old also served as CEO of Novo Nordisk from 2000 to 2016. Mr. Cies de Jong was elected Vice-President, and Mr. Britt Melby Jensen and Mr. Stefan Engels were elected members.
Shareholders approved the change with a 93% vote. The foundation controls more than 75% of the votes.
Michael Dorsten, Pfizer’s head of research and development, decided to withdraw his candidacy ahead of the meeting, citing Sorensen’s “circumstances related to his former employer.” Until recently, Novo pfizer Better than small biotech mezzala.
One of the minority shareholders, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), expressed dissatisfaction earlier this week by saying it would abstain from voting at Friday’s general meeting. Other shareholders, including the California Teachers Retirement System, also indicated they would vote against the proposal. Both NBIM and CalSTRS declined further comment.
Mr Sorensen acknowledged on Friday that some shareholders, including influential ones, had complained about violations of governance rules, but said he intended to return to “normal conditions” as soon as possible.
“I plan to join the board for two to three years in this role,” Sorensen said. “My mission is very clear. Together with the Board of Directors, I have two important tasks: the first is to support the CEO and management team in their transformation plan to regain competitiveness and leadership, and the second is to prepare the way for my successor.”
Novo shares fell 3.2% to $308.25 in midday trading.
“It’s rare for a company of this size to make this much change so quickly,” Andrew Pettigrew, a professor emeritus at Oxford University and an expert on the theory of change, told CNBC.
“It’s usually caused by a bad crisis that pushes them off a cliff, but it’s also a time when they probably didn’t see what was going on beneath them. In other words, they’re surprised by sudden changes. Usually that’s what is needed to overthrow an existing power group within a company, especially if they’ve been in power for a long time,” Pettigrew added.
Sorensen told analysts on a conference call in October that the current board was “too slow to recognize the significance of changes in the U.S. market.”
Novo is widely seen as lagging behind its U.S. peers Eli Lilly Rival drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound quickly stole market share from Novo as they showed more significant weight loss at the highest doses.
Sorensen said in October that the proposed changes to the board were “a matter of urgency and scope,” but he also said the foundations underpinning Novo’s current strategy under new CEO Mike Doesder are “perfectly aligned.”
Outgoing Chairman Lund said on Friday that the disagreements were about governance principles, including “transparent and collaborative decision-making and appropriate checks and balances.”
Lund said the outgoing directors believed that the way these principles had previously been applied should be maintained and that “this would have been fully consistent both with implementing the necessary changes and with past practice.”
“In our view, it would have also reduced unnecessary negative public attention during a year already marked by complex market challenges,” Lund added.
tough US market
Another rationale for the board shakedown is that the new structure will bring in more talent with first-hand experience from a U.S. consumer perspective, which will help navigate a difficult market. This comes amid increased competition from both Eli Lilly and so-called compounding pharmacies, which manufacture cheaper copycat versions of its drugs, and a shift toward direct-to-consumer sales.
Like many pharmaceutical companies, the United States is Novo’s largest market. In the first nine months of 2025, the US market accounted for 56% of total sales in Danish kroner terms.
But analysts have expressed skepticism that the new board will deliver the intended experience. “Overall, the new board may actually look like it has very little commercial, big pharma expertise,” said Emmanuel Papadakis, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
Novo shares have fallen 12% since the board shakeup announcement and are down 58% so far this year. Last week, the company announced lower-than-expected third-quarter results and lowered its full-year outlook, citing slower growth expectations for Ozempic and Wegoby.
This is just one of many dramatic events happening recently at the Danish pharmaceutical giant.
“There’s been a lot of activity this year that shows Novo is a contender,” said Morningstar analyst Karen Andersen. “With these new direct-to-patient markets emerging as a key element for future bariatric sales growth, and compounders remaining the true competitors in this market, it’s not hard to imagine that the board and management teams may not have the same vision of how Novo should respond,” she added.
Over the weekend, Novo pulled out of a dramatic bidding war with the US giant pfizer Experimental weight-loss drugs based on clinical-stage biotechnology Mezzalawithdrew from a deal that analysts described as unusual.
The board changes come just months after Novo appointed Mr. Duesdal as chief executive, replacing former CEO Lars Fluergaard Jorgensen and partially blaming him for the current trajectory of the company and its stock. Subsequently, Dusdahl announced an organizational restructuring that included laying off more than 10% of its workforce worldwide.
