Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk’s board shaken up as directors quit

The company behind weight-loss jab Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic will have a boardroom clear-out, with seven board members including the chairman set to depart.

Novo Nordisk on Tuesday said chairman Helge Lund, vice chair Henrik Poulsen and five directors will not stand for re-election at an extraordinary investor meeting in November.

The departures came about after a disagreement between the board and its majority shareholder over its future governance.

It’s the latest in a raft of changes at the Danish company, which welcomed a new chief executive in August and announced it would lay off 9,000 staff in September.

Last month the firm issued a warning on profits due to increased competition from US rivals, and announced a cost-savings programme as it cut its profit growth forecast for the third time this year.

Widespread adoption of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic diabetes treatment, which is often used off-label as a weight loss drug, and Wegovy had boosted its share price to the point where in summer 2024 it was Europe’s most-valuable company.

Recent competition from rivals like Eli Lilly has eroded that valuation, and shares in Novo Nordisk dipped another 1.7% on the new of a boardroom shake-up.

The departures come after a disagreement between board members from the pharmaceutical company and its majority shareholder, the non-profit Novo Nordisk Foundation, on the extent of changes needed.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation owns 28.1% of the company’s shares, but holds a three-quarter share of the voting rights, which indicates that it holds a lot of sway with how the company is run and who holds senior roles.

Outgoing chair Mr Lund said that the Novo Nordisk board had proposed bringing in several new board members to add new skills, but the Novo Nordisk Foundation “wanted a more extensive reconfiguration”.

The Foundation successfully pushed for the removal of former chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen in May.

The current chairman of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Lars Rebien Sorensen, who served as the pharma’s chief executive from 2000 to 2016, is being put forward to replace current chairman Mr Lund, the foundation said.

Mr Sorensen said the pharmaceutical company had been “too slow in recognising fundamental market changes” as the use of its drugs became mainstream and competitors launched rival treatments.