The pharmaceutical firm responsible for producing the anti-obesity treatment Wegovy and blood sugar drug Ozempic is experiencing a significant boardroom clear-out, with multiple board members, along with the chairman, set to depart.
The Danish company revealed on Tuesday that chairman Helge Lund, deputy chairman Henrik Poulsen, and several board members will decline to seek renewal at an extraordinary investor meeting taking place in November.
These departures follow a clash between the board and its controlling stakeholder regarding the company's future governance.
This marks the most recent in a string of changes at the Danish pharmaceutical company, which appointed a fresh CEO in August and announced plans to lay off thousands of employees in September.
Last month, the corporation alerted investors about earnings due to growing rivalry from American competitors and unveiled a expense-reduction initiative as it lowered its profit growth forecast for the third time this year.
The broad usage of the company's Ozempic diabetes treatment, frequently used for unapproved purposes as a weight loss drug, and Wegovy had boosted its stock value to the point where, in summer 2024, it was the continent's highest-valued firm.
Recent competition from rivals like Eli Lilly has eroded that valuation, and shares in Novo Nordisk declined another 1.7% on the announcement of the leadership reshuffle.
The departures originate from a disagreement between directors from the drug maker and its majority shareholder, the charitable Novo Nordisk Foundation, on the extent of changes required.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation owns 28.1% of the firm's stock, but controls a three-quarter share of the decision-making power, which suggests that it holds significant sway over how the company is managed and who occupies executive positions.
Outgoing chair Mr Lund stated that the Novo Nordisk board had proposed bringing in several new board members to add additional expertise, but the Novo Nordisk Foundation "wanted a more extensive reconfiguration".
The Foundation successfully pushed for the ouster of ex-CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen in May.
The current chairman of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Lars Sorensen, who was the company's CEO from 2000 to 2016, is being put forward to succeed incumbent Helge Lund, the organization announced.
Mr Sorensen observed that the drug manufacturer had been "too slow in recognising fundamental market changes" as the adoption of its medications became mainstream and rivals launched competing products.
