Novo Nordisk faces the loss of patent protection for semaglutide—the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy—in markets such as Canada and China in 2026. CEO Mike Doustdar warned that this will make 2026 “the year of price pressure,” driven by generic competition internationally and by the company’s own U.S. drug-pricing agreement. To counteract anticipated price declines, Novo Nordisk plans to pursue volume growth, leveraging its established manufacturing footprint and direct-to-consumer channels. The company also intends to accelerate business development initiatives, targeting complementary assets that can shore up its late-stage pipeline. These moves follow a high-profile bidding loss to Pfizer for obesity biotech Metsera in 2025, underscoring Novo Nordisk’s renewed focus on partnerships and acquisitions to diversify its revenue base beyond its semaglutide franchise.

In the first week after its early January launch, oral Wegovy recorded unusually strong prescription uptake in the United States, driving Novo Nordisk’s share value up by 9.1%. Preliminary data from leading pharmacy benefit managers indicate that more than 40,000 prescriptions were written during the initial launch phase, reflecting robust patient and prescriber enthusiasm for a non-injectable GLP-1 therapy. Executives attribute this rapid adoption to intensified primary-care outreach and favorable payer coverage decisions secured before launch. If sustained, these volume trends could meaningfully bolster Novo Nordisk’s U.S. obesity franchise revenue in 2026, helping to offset pricing headwinds in other markets.