If Novo Nordisk aimed to boost confidence in the company’s future course by naming a new CEO, those hopes were dashed this week.
The weight loss and diabetes juggernaut announced that Maziar Mike Doustdar — a long-time company executive — is taking the reins on Tuesday, calling him the “best person” to lead Novo into its “next growth phase.”
Novo shares plunged over 20% after the news came out — its largest single-day drop ever recorded.
Of course, there’s much more to Novo’s story than the CEO news, which comes as the industry grapples with a range of market challenges, including widespread regulatory changes, potential tariffs, patent cliffs and more. In fact, Novo is one of several large pharmas to shake up their top brass this month.
Here’s more on Novo’s major leadership transition and other companies attempting to right the ship with a fresh face behind the wheel.
Novo’s descent back to earth
After its weight-loss-fueled ascent to the sales stratosphere, Novo is working to try to keep its growth sky high.
In May, the Danish pharma said CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen would step down, following a turn in the obesity market. While Novo was the star of the emerging weight loss and diabetes market through its GLP-1s Ozempic and Wegovy, Eli Lilly took over the majority of the market officially earlier this year thanks to growing popularity for Zepbound and Wegovy. The switchup brought Novo back to the drawing board for a rebound.
This week, while naming its new CEO, the company also cut its guidance for 2025 from a sales increase of 13% to 21% to between 8% and 14% after slower-than-expected uptake of its GLP-1 products. Doustdar is now tasked with the challenge of navigating Novo’s new era as the second-place obesity leader, grappling with slower growth, potential incoming competitors and compounded versions of its drugs still available on the cheap for some patients.
Doustdar has been with Novo for more than 30 years, most recently serving as executive vice president of international operations after getting his start as an office clerk in Vienna during the 1990s. He oversaw the launch of Novo’s GLP-1s in several countries, and could tighten up the ship with workforce cuts once at the helm in August, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“I come to this role with a sense of urgency, a laser focus on high performance, and a fierce determination for Novo Nordisk to aim higher than it’s ever done,” he said in a statement.
Amid the changes at the top, Novo also restructured its R&D, combining two divisions into one, which will be led by the company’s newly appointed chief scientist, Dr. Martin Holst Lange.
Kenvue’s shaky future
Johnson & Johnson’s decision to spin off its consumer health business in 2023 followed a wave of similar moves by major pharma companies such as Sanofi and GSK. The goal was to streamline, simplify and refocus on the business of innovating drugs.
But since going it alone, J&J’s spinoff Kenvue has struggled to find its footing as a mammoth, multi-faceted company with a broad OTC drug portfolio including stalwarts such as Tylenol and Benadryl, along with household favorite brands like Aveeno and Listerine.
Several headwinds — including falling sales at retail pharmacies — have triggered pressure from activist investors to make a change. Starboard Value already has a seat on the company’s board, and earlier this year Third Point and Toms Capital bought up more of its stock.
With Kenvue in the midst of a strategic review, CEO Thibaut Mongon was ousted suddenly this month and replaced by interim head Kirk Perry, the company’s board director. While the company touted Perry’s 30 years of leadership in consumer packaged goods, it said an executive search firm has been hired to lead the quest for its next permanent CEO.
In its preliminary earnings report for the most recent quarter, Kenvue said it expects a 4% sales drop.
News of the shift has fueled investor speculation that Kenvue is preparing to sell some of its brands or setting the stage for an outright acquisition of the company, which is currently valued at $40 billion.
Jazz sings new tune with CEO switch
Jazz Pharmaceuticals made history by scoring the first FDA approval for a CBD-based drug in 2018. Now, Epidiolex, which is indicated for two rare forms of epilepsy, is on its way to crossing the blockbuster threshold this year, providing an ample revenue cushion for the company’s ongoing pursuit of M&A.
But Jazz’s next big act could be in oncology. The Ireland-based biopharma picked up Chimerix this year for $935 million to nab a brain tumor candidate, potentially building on a portfolio that also includes a HER2-targeting bispecific antibody that’s already won an accelerated approval in one cancer indication and is being studied in several more. Citeline has pegged the treatment, Ziihera, as a potential blockbuster.
With its future coming into sharper focus, Jazz announced new leadership plans this month. Renée Galá will step into the CEO role in August as former CEO Bruce Cozadd retires. Galá, who became the company’s president and chief operating officer in 2023 and brings over 30 years of industry experience to the post, has played a “critical role in driving Jazz’s ongoing transformation.”
