Shares in Novo Nordisk, now best known for its weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, have more than quadrupled since 2018 and are up over 40 per cent in 2023. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA WireNovo Nordisk’s extraordinary run continues, with the Danish pharmaceutical giant last week overtaking French luxury group LVMH as Europe’s most valuable company.
The numbers are eye-popping. Shares in the €400 billion firm, best known for its weight-loss drugs Wegovy and, have more than quadrupled since 2018. They are up over 40 per cent in 2023, with most of those gains coming over the last month. Consequently, Novo is worth more than the combined value of all the other companies in the OMX Copenhagen 25, Denmark’s benchmark index. More valuable than the annual GDP of Denmark, it is keeping Denmark out of recession; the Danish economy would have contracted in the first half of 2023 were it not for Novo.
Recent optimism was partly fuelled by a study showing Wegovy reduced the risk of heart attacks by 20 per cent. Investors’ mood was further boosted last week after Wegovy, which helps patients lose weight by tricking the brain into feeling full, was launched in the UK.