Shares in Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) fell 2.5% to DKK319.20 after Deutsche Bank pointed to a continued slowdown in the oral version of the company’s Wegovy weight-loss drug in the US.
The bank published its weekly tracker of prescription data for Novo’s GLP-1 franchise, the class of appetite-suppressing treatments that has driven the company’s growth
The analysis draws on IQVIA figures up to 26 June. Deutsche Bank singled out the loss of momentum in the Wegovy pill as the notable shift this week. The oral formulation had been seen as a key growth driver, offering patients an alternative to weekly injections and a way for Novo to broaden the market.
A weaker trajectory for the pill matters because rivals are racing to bring their own oral weight-loss treatments to market. Extrapolating current trends, even including the regulator last month granting marketing authorisation to Novo’s oral tablet, the bank expects single-digit downside for the Wegovy pill over the 2026 financial year. It sees double-digit downside for the injectable version, Wegovy SC, and for Rybelsus, Novo’s older oral diabetes drug.