with its anti-obesity drugs Novo Nordisk boosts its financial results

This is unheard of, with 512 billion euros of market capitalization, Thursday March 7, the Danish pharmaceutical group Novo Nordisk has just downgraded the American manufacturer of luxury electric cars. It also overtakes French luxury group LVMH as the largest European market capitalization. The Danish laboratory’s action increased sharply after the announcement of its latest results. Investors are attracted by the success of the first clinical results of a new experimental treatment against obesity. The “diabetes and obesity” sector represents 90% of the company’s activity, whose sales reached nearly 5.5 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2023 alone. The American group Eli Lilly is on the same trajectory.

Specialized pharmaceutical laboratories are profiting from the unprecedented development of obesity in the world, the result of junk food and the sedentary lifestyle of many of us in industrialized countries. Nearly half of Novo Nordisk’s valuation is based on a portfolio of experimental new drugs. And this is not the group’s first attempt; treatments such as Wegovy and Ozampic continue to drive its sales success. They belong to a class of drugs known as GLP-1s originally designed to treat type 2 diabetes.

A market that would exceed 90 billion in 2030

These medications reduce the desire to eat, they stimulate the production of insulin which helps regulate blood sugar levels and reduce the feeling of hunger. Some doctors, for example, prescribe Ozampic to patients who simply want to lose weight. This sale is not prohibited by health authorities, but it creates shortages. Pharmacies are sometimes out of stock for patients truly suffering from type 2 diabetes. Novo Nordisk is even struggling to keep up in terms of manufacturing and continues to invest in its production sites, particularly in Chartres where it is established in France. More broadly, according to the bank Goldman Sachs, the global weight loss market would exceed 90 billion euros in 2030, enough to still ensure very good stock market performances.