In this articleLLYNVOFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTMike Doustdar, CEO of Novo Nordisk, speaks in the Oval Office during an event about weight loss drugs at the White House, Nov. 6, 2025.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | Afp | Getty ImagesNovo Nordisk entered 2026 with the momentum of a historic year in more ways than one — but recent weeks have delivered more drama than most companies might expect over a decade.The Danish drugmaker kicked off the year with the explosive launch of the first-ever GLP-1 pill for obesity. Its recent challenges have centered around protecting its market share in the blockbuster weight loss drug market, all while its stock price swings wildly.This week, Novo sued upstart telehealth provider Hims & Hers for alleged patent infringement and received its own warning from the Food and Drug Administration for what the agency says is misleading claims in advertising. That all followed a 2026 outlook that disappointed investors and stood in stark contrast to its chief rival, Eli Lilly. While Lilly guided to 2026 sales growth of 25%, Novo forecast that sales and profits could decline as much as 13% this year. “Enough has occurred in the past week to occupy a few volumes,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Papadakis on Tuesday, as he — like many of his Wall Street peers — lowered his price target on the stock following the gloomy outlook.The rapid news flow has given investors whiplash. So far this calendar year, U.S.-listed Novo shares have traded across a spread ranging from $43.24 to $64.16, shedding as much as 14% in a single day only to gain 10% back in a later session. [embedded content]Novo Nordisk U.S.-listed shares over the last month.The latest developments add to a thorny situation for Novo as it risks being edged out by Lilly and cheaper compounded versions of semaglutide, which are unapproved copycats of Novo’s Wegovy jab.CEO Mike Doustdar, who took the reins in August after the former CEO was ousted over misjudging the U.S. market and challenges there, has a plan to steer the company through what’s been described as a “show me” year. His agenda is extensive: cracking down on those compounded knockoffs, sustaining strong demand for its newly launched obesity pill, building prescription volumes in the U.S. and bringing new next-generation obesity and diabetes treatments to market. In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Doustdar acknowledged the challenges ahead but said 2026 “is also a year of growth in many ways.” “We will have more patients this year than ever before, we will produce more than last year and years before that,” he said. Doustdar said around 246,000 patients are currently on the company’s Wegovy pill, which launched at the beginning of January and is already outpacing the early rollouts of existing GLP-1 injections.”This, of course, tells me that while the investors are feeling a bit of a headwind on the pricing side and the whole business as you’re alluding to, they are hopefully getting convinced that over a period of time that would wash out and that growth will come,” Doustdar said. The compounding issueNovo has repeatedly cited compounding pharmacies as a key reason for its slowing sales growth. The company estimates 1.5 million Americans are currently taking the copycat weight loss drugs offered by Hims & Hers, as well as some wellness clinics and compounding pharmacies. Telehealth firms like Hims have profited massively from selling so-called compounded versions of injectable semaglutide under a regulatory loophole that allows other companies to sell copycats of the drugs if the branded medicines are in short supply. While branded semaglutide injections are no longer in short supply after a notable demand spike, the companies have continued to mass market cheaper versions directly to consumers, raising legal questions. “We understand why compounding, mass compounding, got started. It was on the back of a shortage. We really don’t understand why it continued,” Doustdar told CNBC on Wednesday, noting that Novo’s opposition has nothing to do with medically necessary compounding for individual cases. Hims last week announced plans to sell a compounded version of Novo’s newly launched Wegovy pill for roughly $100 less than Novo sells the branded version for, though it quickly backed down after Novo said …
