Novo Nordisk CEO on Hims Suit, Wegovy Demand and Pricing
Watch on YouTube ↗  |  February 11, 2026 at 21:07 UTC  |  8:58  |  Bloomberg Markets
Speakers
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen — CEO, Novo Nordisk

Summary

  • Novo Nordisk is aggressively litigating against compounding pharmacies (specifically Hims & Hers), viewing "mass compounding" as a violation of IP and a safety risk due to unknown API sourcing.
  • The launch of the oral Wegovy pill has exceeded internal benchmarks, securing 246,000 patients in 5 weeks (15x faster than the injectable launch), with 90% of users being new to GLP-1s.
  • Novo Nordisk claims a unique geopolitical advantage: unlike peers who often source API from China, Novo manufactures its oral pill API entirely in North Carolina, insulating it from supply chain/trade risks.
Trade Ideas
Ticker Direction Speaker Thesis Time
NVO
LONG Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen
Former CEO, Novo Nordisk 		"Novo Nordisk in North Carolina makes the pill... from the scratch. Basically, the API is made in North Carolina... Many of our peers produce and have their API come from China." This is a "Geopolitical Alpha" play. With increasing US-China tensions (e.g., Biosecure Act, tariffs), pharmaceutical companies relying on Chinese API face significant supply chain risk. NVO's fully domestic US production for the oral pill creates a safety premium that peers lack. LONG NVO as a defensive play against US-China decoupling in the pharma supply chain. Manufacturing issues at the North Carolina plant. 6:22
HIMS
SHORT Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen
Former CEO, Novo Nordisk 		"We saw Hims and Hers come out with basically a copycat... They since have scrapped that pill version... FDA came out and move pretty quickly against them." + "Lawsuit is around the Semaglutide IP as a whole... If anyone can bypass the FDA and simply put any product into the market, then the system is broken." HIMS has benefited from the shortage of branded GLP-1s by offering compounded alternatives. NVO is now explicitly targeting the "mass compounding" business model with legal force, and the FDA is aligning with big pharma. Even though HIMS scrapped the pill, NVO is pursuing the suit to protect the IP "as a whole," threatening the viability of HIMS's compounded GLP-1 revenue stream. SHORT HIMS due to existential legal and regulatory headwinds. HIMS successfully pivots to other verticals or the lawsuit is dismissed. 0:00
NVO
LONG Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen
Former CEO, Novo Nordisk 		"The pill starts with zero... we have 246,000 people after five weeks... 15 times better than when we launched Wegovy injection." + "90% of the people that are coming towards the pill are new patients." The market recently sold off NVO on fears of pricing pressure ("price cuts are happening on day one"). However, the CEO's data confirms that volume growth is massive and, crucially, the oral pill is expanding the Total Addressable Market (TAM) rather than cannibalizing existing injectable revenue. The volume ramp will likely offset pricing headwinds faster than Wall Street models expect. LONG NVO as the oral pill unlocks a new demographic of patients averse to injections. Supply constraints or faster-than-expected pricing degradation. 6:22