The sale of drugs against diabetes and obesity (obesity) resulted in a greatly increased profit for Novo Nordisk last year. This is evident from the Danish pharmaceutical company’s annual report for 2023. There, the company reports profit and sales figures that are even higher than many analysts had expected.
The news agency TT writescited in SvD Business (behind a paywall), that “profits are rushing” and that Novo Nordisk is “growing like crazy”. The company hired around 6,000 people last year, in Denmark alone.
GLP-1 analogues are behind it
Behind the success lies above all the company’s well-known drug Ozempic (semaglutide) and other so-called GLP-1 analogues against diabetes and obesity.
In the area of diabetes and obesity increased sales by 38 percent compared to the previous year. Novo Nordisk sold diabetes and obesity drugs for a total of 215 billion Danish kroner (approximately 325 billion Swedish kronor).
This means that this pharmaceutical group accounted for the majority of the company’s sales of a total of 232 billion Danish kroner (roughly 350 billion Swedish kronor).
Increased profit for Novo Nordic
A very strong increase in sales took place, according to the report, in the United States.
An area there Novo Nordisk reduced its sales of medicines for rare diseases.
The company’s operating profit increased by 44 percent in 2023 at constant exchange rates. The profit amounted to almost 103 billion Danish kroner (156 billion Swedish kronor).
Continuing to expand
In a press release emphasizes Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, that over 40 million people in the world now use the company’s treatments for diabetes and obesity.
– Our focus for 2024 will be about reaching more patients, developing our pipeline and continuing to expand our production capacity.
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