Novo's Semaglutide Unseats Keytruda with USD 16.7b H1'25 Sales

Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide franchise generated USD 16.7 billion in H1 2025 revenue, surpassing MSD’s Keytruda (USD 15.2 billion) as the world’s top-selling drug. Obesity treatment Wegovy (semaglutide) led growth with USD 5.5 billion (+78%), while diabetes drug Ozempic (semaglutide) reached USD 9.6 billion (+15%). The company lowered full-year sales growth forecasts to 8-14% amid slower US uptake of Wegovy and Ozempic competition, though expects new approvals for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) to boost demand.

Novo advanced subcutaneous and oral amaycretin into Phase III obesity trials and submitted Wegovy's high-dose 7.2 mg formulation to EU regulators. Leadership changes take effect on 7 August with Maziar Mike Doustdar replacing Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen as CEO.

According to PharmCube's NextBiopharm® database, Novo continues to lead the obesity race globally in terms of pipeline size. Click here to request a free trial for NextBiopharm®.

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