The news: Novo Nordisk is partnering with AI drug discovery company Deep Apple Therapeutics to discover and develop new cardiometabolic drugs, including for obesity. The deal is worth up to $812 million for Deep Apple to discover effective non-incretin drugs. For context: Novo’s GLP-1 blockbuster semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy for weight loss and as Ozempic for diabetes, is an incretin hormone. 

How we got here: Novo’s Wegovy was the first GLP-1 drug for obesity in front of competitor Eli Lilly’s (Zepbound) by two years. But it failed to capitalize on its first-mover advantage. 

• Novo developed Wegovy's launch strategy based on its experience with an earlier, less-effective weight loss drug, Saxenda. However, within five weeks, Wegovy’s prescription rate hit the same level it took Saxenda five years to reach, per the Wall Street Journal. 
• Novo didn’t fully anticipate supply challenges, and severe shortages of semaglutide began in 2022. That spurred the FDA to allow compounding pharmacies to jump into the market and make copycat drugs, which cut into Novo’s sales.
• For context, Lilly’s tirzepatide also faced shortages, but was called off in October 2024.

Yes, and: Novo is currently developing several new weight loss drugs. It’s awaiting an FDA decision on oral semaglutide for obesity, and working on a combined GLP-1 and amylin receptor drug called CagriSema, and a next generation obesity candidate, amycretin. 

However, the highly anticipated CagriSema turned in lackluster results in December with 16% body weight loss, well short of Novo’s expected 25% loss, and its stock price sank. As a result, CEO Lars Jorgensen is stepping down; a search for his replacement is ongoing.

The takeaway: Novo is not the biggest loser in the GLP-1 weight loss category, but it’s trailing Lilly in drug effectiveness, market value, and more importantly public perception. It’s critical for Novo to come up with new and better weight loss drugs—hence the deal with Deep Apple—but also polish its brand with consumers. A new CEO and new marketing direction could garner Novo some much-needed cachet.

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