In its first week on the market, Novo Nordisk’s oral version of Wegovy secured more than 18,000 prescriptions, underscoring robust patient demand for at-home GLP-1 therapy. This launch follows December approval by U.S. regulators and positions Novo Nordisk to capture incremental share in the rapidly growing obesity-treatment segment. Investor confidence appears to be rising: the stock rebounded by 26% in early 2026 after a 41% decline in 2025, reflecting optimism that oral Wegovy will drive sustained revenue growth. With a current P/E ratio of 17, compared with over 50 for leading rival Eli Lilly, analysts argue Novo Nordisk’s valuation remains attractive relative to growth prospects driven by its next-generation weight-loss franchise.

Novo Nordisk increased its U.S. advertising investment for Wegovy and Ozempic to a combined $487 million during the first nine months of 2025, up 54% and 44% year-over-year for each drug, respectively. By contrast, Eli Lilly spent $214 million promoting Zepbound and Mounjaro over the same period. Despite the higher outlay, market data indicate Lilly captured approximately 60% of U.S. obesity-drug prescriptions in 2025, driven in part by head-to-head trial results showing Zepbound users achieved 47% greater weight loss than those on Wegovy. Novo Nordisk now plans to deploy similar marketing resources to support its newly approved pill formulation, leveraging direct-to-consumer channels where insurance coverage remains uneven.

Novo Nordisk faces a class action lawsuit alleging it orchestrated a scheme to delay generic competition for its diabetes treatment Victoza, preserving monopoly pricing and shifting patients to newer GLP-1 therapies. Plaintiffs claim a reverse-payment agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals postponed generic Victoza’s launch until June 2024, despite the drug generating over $5 billion in U.S. sales during 2018. The complaint asserts that this strategy blocked other generic entrants for 16 additional months, forced purchasers to pay supracompetitive prices on both Victoza and Ozempic, and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges. The outcome could have material financial and reputational ramifications for Novo Nordisk if courts award significant damages or impose stricter regulatory scrutiny.