Three years ago, Novo Nordisk — yet to rebrand as Novo — was Europe's most valuable company by market capitalisation. Today, it is not even in the continent's top 10, having lost its dominance of the fast-growing market for weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1s. The Danish drugmaker, its share price shrunken by three-quarters since its 2024 peak, is now trying to convince investors that there is more to life than Ozempic and Wegovy.

Novo's shares fell about 8 per cent on Monday as it laid out its strategy, which involves expanding capacity in weight-loss pills and building the next generation of drugs in obesity and diabetes, while broadening into blood and endocrine disorders and liver diseases. It aims to have at least five multi-blockbuster drugs by 2030. However, guidance appears unambitious: oral Wegovy capacity targets roughly 15 million patients, far below the potential 2 billion people with obesity worldwide.

Rivalry with Eli Lilly has triggered a price race to the bottom, and competitors are entering with their own pills. Novo's goal of 50 per cent growth in its blood and endocrine division by 2030 matches its current rate, and overall growth is expected around 5 per cent annually. The message is that life beyond Wegovy is far less exhilarating than investors hoped.