Novo Nordisk reported a notable increase in net profit for the fourth quarter, surpassing expectations with a total of 28.23 billion Danish kroner. Analysts had predicted a net profit of 26.09 billion Danish kroner. For the full year, Novo Nordisk's net profit amounted to 100.99 billion Danish kroner, exceeding the projected 99.14 billion Danish kroner for 2024. A key driver behind this financial success was the remarkable 107% increase in sales of Wegovy, a GLP-1 agonist obesity treatment, reaching 19.87 billion Danish kroner.
Although the sales figures for Wegovy slightly missed analysts' forecast of 20.02 billion Danish kroner, the performance was still impressive. The sales of Wegovy, amounting to $2.76 billion for the three months ending in December, underscore the growing global demand for GLP-1 agonist obesity treatments. These treatments work by mimicking the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1, thereby suppressing appetite and contributing to weight loss.
Despite the positive financial results, Novo Nordisk faced a setback with the trial results of CagriSema. This combination of semaglutide and amylin analog achieved an average weight reduction of 22.7%, falling short of the company's forecast of 25%. However, the company experienced a boost in its stock value last month following encouraging early-stage results for Amycretin, another obesity drug candidate. Amycretin utilizes the amylin pancreas hormone, similar to CagriSema.
The market remains attentive to further developments regarding Novo Nordisk's pipeline of obesity drugs. Investors are particularly interested in updates on CagriSema and other drug candidates as the company continues to innovate within this growing field.