Novo Nordisk Defends GLP-1 Safety Record as Wegovy Pill Lands in Mexico
Published on 11/12/2026 at 13:41 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Novo Nordisk is pushing back against a US regulatory demand for new label warnings on its GLP-1 medicines, insisting that the evidence gathered so far does not establish a causal link to a rare eye condition. The FDA's request, issued Monday, covers every manufacturer of GLP-1 receptor agonists and, for Novo, takes in both Ozempic and Wegovy. The warning concerns NAION, a rare disorder that can cause permanent vision loss.
Citing Reuters, the Danish drugmaker said the available data do not demonstrate that its treatments cause the condition, and it reiterated confidence in the benefit-risk profile of its medicines. Shares were up 0.7% on the day, though no direct connection between that move and the FDA's action can be drawn.
Guidance Raised and a CFO Succession
The regulatory news lands alongside a stronger operational picture. On 4 November Novo lifted its full-year forecast and reported an adjusted operating profit of DKK 31.7 billion for the third quarter of 2026, a 27% increase at constant exchange rates. For the full year, the company projects both adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit to move between -2% and +2% at constant currencies.
BMO Capital raised its price target to $44 from $40 on 5 November while keeping a "Market Perform" rating. Analyst Evan Seigerman pointed to solid results and sales of the Wegovy pill but questioned whether that momentum can be sustained into 2027.
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The same day as the guidance update, Novo announced a change at the top of its finance function. Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen will leave the company at the end of December 2026, with Luigi La Corte slated to succeed him as Executive Vice President and CFO.
Oral Wegovy Opens Latin America
Novo's tablet version of Wegovy reached Mexico yesterday, the first Latin American market for its oral obesity therapy. The launch offers investors an additional growth avenue — provided the company can convert the region's well-documented preference for tablets into actual prescriptions. Demand is only part of the equation; supply and pricing matter just as much.
Mexican regulator COFEPRIS approved the tablets in August. Availability is set to expand gradually over the coming weeks to an estimated 10,000 points of sale, and Novo puts the potential market at 7.5 million people. Hitting that announced breadth of distribution, and getting patients into physician-supervised treatment, is the next test of execution.
Survey Points to Tablet Preference
In a Novo-commissioned survey, more than 77% of adults said they would be more likely to start treatment if it came as a tablet. Yet fewer than 1% of people with overweight or obesity in Mexico currently receive any such care. The findings suggest appetite for the oral format, assuming stated willingness translates into prescriptions. Pricing is intended to be competitive by dose and point of sale, close to the injectable version, and a prescription with medical monitoring remains mandatory.
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Clinical data underpin the market entry. In the Phase 3 OASIS 4 trial, participants lost roughly 17% of their body weight after 64 weeks. The approval covers long-term weight reduction in adults with obesity, or with overweight plus a weight-related comorbidity, and extends to reducing major cardiovascular events in adults with established cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity. That gives Novo a use case beyond weight loss alone, should physicians prescribe the oral therapy across the approved patient groups.
Mexico adds to the Wegovy pill's existing footprint: more than 8 million prescriptions have been written cumulatively since its introduction. Wider uptake of oral therapies fits Novo's shift toward a high-volume, lower-priced model, which puts the focus on whether extra treatments can offset the pressure from softer prices. The Mexican rollout strengthens the growth story if broader availability produces lasting additional prescriptions — and the next concrete step will be whether that higher volume carries the earnings line.
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Fresh Novo Nordisk information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
