Novo Nordisk’s (NYSE:NVO) investor relations team presented at Deutsche Bank’s European Champions Conference, with the broker maintaining its hold rating and DKK290 target price on the Danish pharma group.
The key takeaway concerned the launch of Novo’s oral semaglutide product, where the company confirmed that dose escalation patterns are not yet mirroring the trajectory seen with its injectable formulations
Data capture through IQVIA, the healthcare analytics provider, has improved to roughly 65%, with 90% of prescriptions remaining in the cash-pay channel rather than being covered by insurance. On the injectable side, competitive pressures are mounting. Canadian price discounting has reached 40% to 65%, while US compounding of semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) appears to have peaked.
However, existing compounded supply is likely to prove sticky, with roughly 1.5 million patients still using compounded versions of the drug, sourced entirely from Chinese active pharmaceutical ingredient suppliers. Deutsche Bank’s Emmanuel Papadakis noted that discussions also covered the broader pricing environment, the navigability of semaglutide’s eventual loss of exclusivity, the company’s business development outlook, and its pipeline assets, including cagrisema, zenagamtide and its myostatin programmes. At DKK288, the shares are just under the target price, reflecting the finely balanced risk profile Deutsche Bank sees for the stock