The Ozempic effect: How weight loss wonder drug gobbled up an economy

Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has grown so large in its native Denmark that it’s hard to find staff. Meanwhile, its philanthropic foundation is running out of local causes to support.

Sanne Wass and Naomi Kresge

Jun 25, 2024 – 5.00am

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There is no escaping Ozempic and Wegovy. The diabetes and obesity drugs are a global phenomenon. They’ve won over the rich and famous, generated billions in sales and blown open a new market for weight loss drugs, which Goldman Sachs estimates will reach $US100 billion ($150 billion) a year by 2030.

The development of semaglutide, the key ingredient in the medicines, has also transformed their maker, Novo Nordisk, into Europe’s most valuable company, with profound implications for its home country of Denmark. Novo’s market capitalisation of more than $US570 billion ($856 billion) is bigger than the Danish economy. Its philanthropic foundation is now the world’s largest, with assets twice those of the Gates Foundation.

Washington Post