Novo Nordisk CEO says drugmaker is seeking deals more than ever before
Novo Nordisk's CEO says the Ozempic and Wegovy maker is hunting for deals while defending a pipeline that some analysts have questioned.
Novo Nordisk is looking for deals "more than ever before," CEO Mike Doustdar said in a CNBC interview on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, pushing back at analysts who have questioned whether the Danish drugmaker's pipeline is strong enough to keep it at the front of the obesity drug market [1].
"If our ambition is to help hundreds of millions of patients out there, then we need not just the best, but the broadest pipeline in the world," Doustdar said. "So let's go and see who else basically has assets that are complementary to what we have. And we are quite active with those [business development] talks and acquisitions, and you'll see more of those as well going forward" [1].
Novo makes the weekly GLP-1 shots Ozempic and Wegovy, both semaglutide, which created the market for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs [1]. Rival Eli Lilly has since overtaken Novo in market share for weekly GLP-1 shots, though Novo has taken an early lead in the newer category of GLP-1 pills for weight loss [1].
Doustdar said he disagrees with concerns about Novo's upcoming treatments, arguing the company has "one of the best pipelines in the industry" [1]. He pointed to CagriSema, a drug candidate that targets GLP-1 and amylin, which Novo hopes will be approved at the end of this year, and to zenagamtide, an experimental amylin-targeting drug whose development Novo has accelerated [1].
He also said the company has more in development that it has not yet described publicly. "Of course, there's a lot of things in my pipeline that right now I have the privy to look into and get excited (about) but not have shared it yet with the world," he said. "So I am incredibly excited about our pipeline, and I would just say to the investors who are a little bit skeptical, wait and see" [1].
Doustdar spoke after Novo said its Wegovy pill performed better than expected in the first quarter and after the company raised its full-year profit guidance [1]. The interview did not include specific acquisition targets, deal values or a timeline for future deals [1].
Why it matters for patients
Novo and Eli Lilly are the two companies whose GLP-1 medicines — semaglutide under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, and tirzepatide under Mounjaro and Zepbound — make up most of the US market for these drugs. How the two companies compete shapes what treatments become available and how quickly.
The pipeline question is central to that competition. Analysts have raised doubts about whether Novo's pipeline is robust enough for it to stay a leader in the increasingly competitive obesity drug space, and Lilly has already passed Novo in share of weekly GLP-1 shots [1]. A company that buys or licenses new drug candidates could bring additional options to market, but whether any particular deal changes what is available, or what it costs, has not been reported and would depend on the drugs involved and on regulatory review.
For anyone taking semaglutide now, the commercial and pipeline news does not change the medicine in hand. The products currently on the market continue to be made by the same companies.
What happens next
Novo hopes CagriSema will be approved at the end of this year, according to Doustdar [1]. The company has also accelerated development of zenagamtide, but no timeline for that drug has been reported [1].
Doustdar said more deals and acquisitions are coming, without giving dates: "you'll see more of those as well going forward" [1].
Sources
Semaglutides.org provides information only, not medical advice. Talk to a licensed provider about your own care before making changes. Some telehealth links are affiliate links and are labeled where they appear.