Novo Nordisk healthcare sensation estimated to be worth $350 Billion
Growing buzz around the drugs Wegovy and Ozempic has helped make Denmark’s Novo Nordisk one of the world’s largest healthcare companies.
One longstanding investor, the French asset manager Comgest, says the story has further to run.
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@novonordisk healthcare sensation estimated to be worth $350 Billion!!
– Growing buzz around the drugs Wegovy and Ozempic has helped make Denmark’s Novo Nordisk one of the world’s largest healthcare companies, via @FactSet #Biotechnology #Pharmaceutical pic.twitter.com/FelbYIdZmZ
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The weight-loss drug Wegovy and a counterpart for diabetes, Ozempic, have exploded in popularity. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk tweeted about Wegovy in October, and doctors say it has become the talk of Hollywood and beyond.
Arnaud Cosserat, chief executive of Comgest, told The Wall Street Journal that Novo Nordisk “is only scratching the surface.” He argues Wegovy could potentially reach a much wider user base, both in America and in other markets such as China. Additionally, he noted, the drug is for now only available in injectable form.
Mr. Cosserat said Comgest, which focuses on what it calls “quality growth” investing, first took a position in Novo Nordisk in the early 2000s. Novo Nordisk is now the biggest holding in Comgest’s European large-cap “Growth Europe” funds, with a roughly 8% weighting as of end-February.
Products such as Ozempic and Wegovy work by acting like GLP-1, a naturally occurring hormone that stimulates the production of insulin and suppresses appetite.
