It’s the end of an era at Novo Nordisk as longtime CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen—who recently shepherded the company through its GLP-1 growth boom—heads for the exit.
Under a mutual agreement with Novo’s board of directors, Jørgensen is stepping down from the chief executive post he’s held for the past eight years, Novo announced Friday. Jørgensen will stick around for some time to help smooth the transition process as the company carries out an accelerated search for a successor.
Novo did not provide a clear timeline on when it expects the leadership transition to occur, but the company said the selection process for a new CEO is already underway.
Novo didn’t mince words about the rationale behind the decision, pointing to “recent market challenges” and the precipitous decline of the company’s share price “since mid-2024.”
Novo was riding high with a share price of roughly $133 about a year ago. Since then, however, the company’s stock has plummeted more than 50% to $66.15. On Friday alone, the Danish drugmaker’s stock was down a little more than 3%.
While Novo didn’t parse the “market challenges” it alluded to in its announcement, the company was likely referring to increasing pressure from Eli Lilly in the GLP-1 market for diabetes and obesity.
Though Novo was first to the FDA finish line with its GLP-1s for Type 2 diabetes and obesity, Ozempic and Wegovy, Lilly came in hot pursuit with its own incretin counterparts Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Now, several years into the weight loss boom spurred on by the new class of medicines, Lilly appears to be gaining the upper hand over Novo, analysts at BMO Capital Markets wrote in a report last month.
The BMO team noted that while Lilly’s momentum is accelerating, Novo’s is slowing down: In 2024, Lilly grew sales 32% versus 26% for Novo. Lilly is projecting another 32% increase in revenue at the midpoint of its 2025 financial forecast, while Novo is only guiding for growth between 16% and 24% this year.
Novo has struggled in the clinic as well. Late last year, Lilly revealed head-to-head trial data that found its obesity med Zepbound had topped Novo’s weight loss counterpart Wegovy. Novo has also struggled to impress with data sets on its next generation obesity prospect CagriSema.
Despite the regime change, Novo’s guidance for the year will remain unchanged, Helge Lund, chair of Novo’s board of directors, said on a conference call about the CEO transition on Friday.
“The Novo Nordisk board has, until now, been working with a different CEO succession timeline that did not call for an imminent change,” Lund explained on the call. “However, given the circumstances, we and Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen have concluded that it is in the best interest of the company that he steps down.”
Lund caveated that “[s]uccession planning is not an event; it’s an ongoing process, including both internal and external candidates.”
Meanwhile, as Jørgensen lines up his departure, Novo’s board is welcoming back an old face in Lars Rebien Sørensen, who currently serves as the chair of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and led Novo Nordisk as CEO from 2000 to 2016.
Sørensen will initially sit in on board meetings as an observer with the aim to be nominated for a permanent spot at Novo’s annual general meeting next year.
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen for his outstanding contributions to Novo Nordisk’s success during his tenure as CEO," Sørensen said in a statement. “He is highly respected both inside and outside the company for his leadership, values and vision for the company and the pharmaceutical industry at large.”
Jørgensen first joined Novo in 1991 as an economist in healthcare, economy and planning, according to his official bio on the drugmaker’s website. In 2004, Jørgensen moved up to the role of senior vice president for IT and corporate development, and, in 2013, he became EVP and chief information officer in charge of IT, quality and corporate development.
After moving up the ladder yet again in 2014, Jørgensen was ultimately appointed CEO in January 2017.
“Serving as Novo Nordisk’s CEO for the past eight years has been a privilege and an experience that I will always cherish,” Jørgensen said in a statement. “I am proud of the results I have helped create together with my leadership team, the board, and the thousands of employees who work every day to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases.”
Jørgensen’s resignation is one of multiple high-profile departures at Novo Nordisk in recent months.
Doug Langa, who headed up Novo’s North American operations, departed at the end of December. Meanwhile, Camilla Sylvest, who oversaw Novo’s commercial strategy and corporate affairs, announced that she was stepping down in April after 28 years with the company.
More recently, Frederik Kier, who had served as the SVP of Novo’s global obesity unit since October 2022, announced plans to join another Danish pharma, Leo, at the start of June. In his new role at Leo, Kier will serve as EVP of international operations.