Novo Nordisk is focusing on its innovation capabilities and early-stage pipeline following several clinical setbacks, CEO Doustdar said during a press call on Aug. 5 to present the company’s second quarter earnings results.
“We stay alive—or not—based on our ability to innovate,” Doustdar told reporters, highlighting positive signs in the early pipeline but declining to share details because the products are still in development. He added, “In terms of the magnitude of the assets and areas we would like to operate in—as well as the speed of operations—we will be second to none.”
The comments follow recent challenges for Novo Nordisk, including a late-stage failure for its IL-6 inhibitor ziltivekimab in the Phase 3 ZEUS trial. The drug did not significantly lower major adverse cardiovascular events among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and inflammation. Ziltivekimab was part of Novo’s effort to expand into obesity-adjacent indications within cardiometabolic medicine.
Earlier this year, Novo faced defeats against competitor Eli Lilly in two head-to-head trials. In February, Lilly’s drugs outperformed Novo’s candidates for both weight loss and blood sugar control outcomes. Despite these setbacks, Doustdar said, “It’s true that we have had a couple of setbacks recently on R&D. But that’s part of, and the nature of, this industry. If you don’t like setbacks and you don’t like failure, don’t get into the pharma industry.” He continued: “We need to learn from the failures and reinvent ourselves again,” adding that Novo aims to bring more innovations forward for patients.
Doustdar also confirmed that Novo is seeking external opportunities through acquisitions: “I believe strongly that we need bolt-on acquisitions to complement what we are doing ourselves.” Internally, Novo discontinued development of monlunabant—a cannabinoid receptor blocker acquired via Inversago Pharma—after reporting both weight loss efficacy and neuropsychiatric side effects during trials.
For the second quarter, Novo reported net sales of DKK 78.5 billion ($12.1 billion), marking a 3% increase year-on-year and surpassing analyst expectations overall despite oral Wegovy sales falling slightly below consensus at DKK 3.22 billion ($496 million). U.S.-listed shares dropped nearly 6% before Wednesday's opening bell following these results; however, strong performance within its GLP-1 franchise led Novo Nordisk to raise its full-year outlook.
