Novo Nordisk ousts CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen

Novo Nordisk announced on May 16, 2025 that Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen will step down as chief executive after eight years in the job ^[1]. The company said the change was made "in light of the recent market challenges Novo Nordisk has been facing, and the development of the company's share price since mid-2024" ^[1]. Jørgensen will stay on as CEO until a successor is named, and a search is underway ^[1].

The move was driven by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the enterprise foundation that controls the drugmaker through its investment arm, Novo Holdings A/S. Novo Holdings owns 28% of the share capital and 77% of the votes in Novo Nordisk ^[1]. The foundation's board asked Novo's board to speed up CEO succession and to expand the foundation's presence on the board ^[1]. A spokesperson told Reuters the foundation instigated the early exit at a meeting in April ^[2]. Jørgensen told Reuters he did not see the decision coming and was informed only very recently ^[2].

As part of the shake-up, Lars Rebien Sørensen — Novo Nordisk's CEO from 2000 to 2016 and chair of the Novo Nordisk Foundation since 2018 — began sitting in on Novo Nordisk board meetings as an observer that same day, with the intention of being nominated for election to the board at the 2026 Annual General Meeting ^[1].

The numbers behind the shake-up

Novo's share price hit a record high in June 2024, when the company was worth $615 billion and was the most valuable listed company in Europe ^[2]. By the time of the announcement, its market value had roughly halved to about $310 billion, with shares down 32% year-to-date and 59% from the peak ^[2]. Shares fell another 1.8% on the day of the announcement, while Eli Lilly shares rose 2.6% ^[2].

The competitive picture matters here. Reuters reported that US prescriptions for Lilly's Zepbound (tirzepatide) have surpassed Wegovy (semaglutide) since mid-March ^[2]. US approvals for the two drugs were based on separate trials, but in a head-to-head weight-loss trial Lilly's drug helped patients lose more weight ^[2]. Days before the leadership announcement, Novo cut its 2025 sales and profit forecast for the first time since Wegovy launched four years earlier ^[2].

Investors have also been worried about Novo's pipeline, particularly after disappointing December trial data for its next-generation obesity drug CagriSema ^[2]. The patent on the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic — semaglutide — expires by 2032 in the United States ^[2]. Compounded copies of semaglutide, temporarily allowed during shortages, also cut into demand, though Novo expects a ban on US pharmacies producing them to help revive sales this year ^[2].

Not everyone agreed with the decision. "He was leading the company for eight years and was in my opinion extremely successful," Lukas Leu of Bellevue Asset Management told Reuters ^[2]. Danske Bank analyst Carsten Lonborg Madsen said on the company call: "It just feels like there's something that has gone pretty wrong here" ^[2]. Novo's chairman, Helge Lund, told analysts the strategy is unchanged and the board is "confident in the company's current business plans and its ability to execute on the plans" ^[1][2].

Why it matters for patients

A CEO change does not alter how semaglutide works, and Novo says its strategy and product portfolio are unchanged ^[1]. But the pressures behind the change are the same ones patients feel at the pharmacy counter: competition between Wegovy and Zepbound, the end of the compounded-semaglutide era, and questions about what comes after semaglutide.

Competition can cut both ways. Lilly gaining US prescription share ^[2] may push both companies on price and access, but it can also shift which drug your insurer prefers. The CagriSema setback ^[2] means the next-generation options patients have been hearing about may arrive later or look less impressive than early hype suggested. And the 2032 US patent expiry for semaglutide ^[2] is the earliest realistic marker for lower-cost generic versions — nearly seven years away from the date of this announcement.

What the sources do not say is whether a new CEO would change pricing, supply, or research priorities in ways patients would notice. That is not yet known.

What happens next

Jørgensen remains CEO until a successor is found; no date was given ^[1][2]. Sørensen participates as a board observer starting May 16, 2025, with a planned nomination for full board election at the 2026 Annual General Meeting ^[1]. Novo held an investor conference call on May 16, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. EDT ^[1].