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Pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk is poised to surpass its trading forecasts, buoyed by surging demand for its new Wegovy weight loss pill.

Shares in the Copenhagen-based company saw a significant uplift in early trading on Wednesday following the announcement.

The launch of the Wegovy pill in January marked a direct challenge to rival Mounjaro, produced by Eli Lilly, in the competitive weight loss drug market.

This success comes after the Danish firm experienced a downturn in sales and profits for its injection treatments, which were significantly impacted by the rapid rise of competitor weight loss pills.

Novo Nordisk has hailed the Wegovy pill’s debut as the strongest for any obesity drug in the US market. Since its introduction, more than two million prescriptions have been issued, with weekly figures now surpassing 200,000.

Sales of the pill reach 2.26 billion Danish krone (£261 million) in the quarter to March 31, surpassing analyst predictions.

The group’s adjusted net sales were nevertheless down 10 per cent for the quarter, with adjusted operating profit down 15 per cent.

It said adjusted sales could dip by as much as 12 per cent for the year, but this marked an improvement from previous guidance of 13 per cent.

Mike Doustdar, president and chief executive of Novo Nordisk, said: “Wegovy is driving a strong start to 2026 for Novo Nordisk, led by the rapid adoption of Wegovy pill – the most efficacious GLP-1 tablet now used by more than one million patients since its January launch.

“As the global momentum behind peptide-based therapies accelerates, Wegovy pill is defining a novel category as the only oral peptide for the treatment of obesity, setting a new benchmark for what patients and physicians can expect.

“The strong Wegovy performance, combined with continued growth in international operations, has led us to raise our 2026 guidance for both adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit.”

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “After the madness of the last three years it looks like Novo’s shares are returning to their longer-term trend – the euphoria that saw the shares reach such dizzying highs has entirely evaporated, but today’s numbers still point to a very healthy business and a long-term opportunity in Wegovy.

“It might not have changed the world overnight, but it certainly marked a shift in treatments, a more consequential story in the long run, and one far more beneficial to sensible growth in the share price.”