In its first full week on the market, Novo Nordisk’s newly approved oral version of Wegovy garnered over 18,000 U.S. prescriptions, according to IQVIA data. By the second week, that figure rose to more than 26,000 prescriptions, underscoring rapid patient adoption. This launch follows December’s FDA approval for the pill formulation of the company’s flagship GLP-1 weight-loss therapy and coincides with a 26% share rally in early 2026 after a 41% decline in 2025. With a current price-to-earnings ratio near 17—substantially below competitor valuations exceeding 50—analysts argue Novo Nordisk remains undervalued and poised for further upside as oral Wegovy drives new growth channels.

Data compiled by MediaRadar show that between January and September 2025, Novo Nordisk invested approximately $316 million promoting Wegovy and $169 million on Ozempic in the U.S., marking increases of 54% and 44% versus the same period in 2024. Combined spend of $487 million more than doubled rival Eli Lilly’s $214 million outlay on its obesity and diabetes treatments during that window. This renewed marketing push resumed after supply constraints in 2024, with Novo Nordisk’s U.S. operations chief confirming plans to begin advertising the Wegovy pill immediately. Despite higher ad budgets, market share data indicate competitors captured roughly 60% of U.S. obesity-drug prescriptions in 2025, fueled in part by clinical results showing Lilly’s Zepbound patients lost 47% more weight than those on Wegovy.

Novo Nordisk faces a class-action complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging the company orchestrated an anticompetitive scheme to extend Victoza’s monopoly beyond patent expiration. Victoza produced over $5 billion in U.S. sales in 2018, and its last active ingredient patent expired in August 2022, with pediatric exclusivity through February 2023. Plaintiffs claim Novo Nordisk entered a reverse-payment agreement with a generic manufacturer to postpone generic Victoza’s launch until June 2024—delaying competition by at least 16 months—and blocked other generics from challenging patents. The lawsuit seeks recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in alleged overcharges for Victoza, its generics and Ozempic during the restricted period.