New Novo chair floats an over-the-counter future for Wegovy

Lars Rebien Sorensen, the newly elected chairman of Novo Nordisk, said on November 14 that he wants to add board members with pharmaceutical and over-the-counter, or OTC, experience, opening the door to talk of a consumer-health path for Wegovy ^[1][2]. Sorensen made the comments after an extraordinary shareholder meeting that overhauled the company's board ^[1].

Sorensen, who also chairs the Novo Nordisk Foundation, was installed as company chairman at that meeting, giving him a dual role that is new for the firm ^[1]. The Foundation controls 77% of Novo's voting rights while owning about 28% of its share capital, and the board shake-up handed it more direct power over the company ^[1]. The revamped board won more than 90% shareholder approval, though some minority investors protested or abstained over concerns about Sorensen holding both posts at once ^[1].

"We would like to strengthen the board with some qualifications, preferably with recent pharma experience, perhaps even OTC experience," Sorensen said, tying the idea to a broader shift toward a direct-to-consumer, cash-paying model for the company ^[1]. He did not lay out a timeline, product, or regulatory plan for an over-the-counter obesity drug ^[1][2]. No regulator has approved a GLP-1 medicine for over-the-counter sale, according to the reporting ^[1].

The remarks come as Novo faces slowing sales growth for Wegovy, the drug that helped make it Europe's most valuable company last year ^[1]. Competition from Eli Lilly and from compounding pharmacies, along with supply constraints, has cut into Novo's early lead in the weight-loss market ^[1]. Sorensen has criticized the prior board for moving too slowly to address the decline in Novo's U.S. business, and he pushed over the summer for the faster naming of a new chief executive, Mike Doustdar, who is now leading layoffs across the company ^[1]. Novo also recently lost a bidding war to Pfizer over Metsera, another company working on obesity treatments ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

An over-the-counter GLP-1 does not exist yet, and this is a chairman describing a board-staffing priority, not an announced product or filing ^[1][2]. For patients now taking Wegovy, Ozempic, or Rybelsus by prescription, nothing changes today in how the drug is dispensed, covered by insurance, or regulated.

If Novo ever pursued an OTC version of semaglutide, it would need approval from the Food and Drug Administration, which has not cleared any GLP-1 drug for non-prescription sale ^[1]. An OTC obesity drug could, in theory, change how people access treatment and how much they pay out of pocket, since Sorensen linked the idea to a "direct-to-consumer, cash-paying model" ^[1]. But the sources do not describe what dose, formulation, or safety monitoring such a product might involve, so patients weighing current treatment options have no new label change or access change to factor in yet.

What happens next

Sorensen said he plans to serve as chairman for no more than two to three years and wants to step down "as quickly as possible" once a successor is elected, at which point the Foundation would return to operating at arm's length from the company ^[1]. The sources do not give a date for when new board members with pharma or OTC backgrounds might be named, nor any timeline for a regulatory filing. Reuters notes the board changes followed the abrupt resignation last month of former chairman Helge Lund and other independent directors over governance disagreements with the Foundation ^[1].