Novo Nordisk bets on Wegovy pill to win weight loss battle beyond U.S.

Novo Nordisk has told CNBC how it is preparing to go “all in” on launching its Wegovy pill outside the U.S, as the battle for dominance of the weight-loss market goes global.

“When we launch, we’ll go all in,” Novo’s Executive Vice President for International Operations, Emil Kongshøj Larsen, told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday. “It’s a major opportunity.”

Novo announced last week that it expects to start the first launches outside of the U.S. later this year, pending approvals, after the pill continues to impress with unparalleled U.S. uptake.

The U.S. market accounts for more than half of the sales of both Novo and its chief rival Eli Lilly. But the companies are now looking increasingly to expand the market for weight-loss drugs that have revolutionized the pharmaceutical space in recent years.

Larsen wouldn’t name specific countries where Novo might launch the Wegovy pill first, saying the drugmaker will “go according to potential,” highlighting factors such as patient interest in obesity treatment, how well-trained doctors are, and the existence of potential telehealth partners.

Larsen said that telehealth had been one way of broadening access to patients, saying that, in Germany, “it’s been slow for a while, and all of a sudden, telehealth helps patients get access to treatment in a way that is very convenient and appreciated.”

While Eli Lilly expects sales to grow 28% at the midpoint of its guidance this year, Novo has forecast a drastic decline in sales.

Novo hiked its guidance slightly last week, but still expects profits and sales to decline between 4% and 12% in 2026, hurt by lower prices in the U.S. and generic competition in markets including India, Canada, Brazil, and China.

This is despite Novo gaining an early lead in the oral weight loss drugs with the U.S. launch of the Wegovy pill in January. Last week, Novo said total prescriptions had reached more than 2 million, as sales massively beat expectations in its first quarter despite its lower price point. 

“We cannot have a better pre-launch in a world that’s become very small when it comes to social media, digital, sentiment, etc.,” Larsen said, referring to the U.S launch. “It’s also very exciting for our injectable franchise, because it’s energizing the whole Wegovy brand,” he added.

Nordea analysts said in a note to clients that Wegovy is becoming the number one household weight loss brand in the U.S., based on Google Trends data, which aligns with prescription trends.

Meanwhile, Lilly said on April 30 that more than 20,000 people had started taking the rival pill Foundayo since it launched earlier that month.

According to analysts closely tracking weekly U.S. prescription data, Foundayo has recorded far fewer prescriptions compared with the Wegovy pill in the comparable period, according to IQVIA data, which doesn’t capture all prescriptions, but gives market…