\n<\/p>\n
The company behind weight-loss jab Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic will have a boardroom clear-out, with seven board members including the chairman set to depart.<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk on Tuesday said chairman Helge Lund, vice chair Henrik Poulsen and five directors will not stand for re-election at an extraordinary investor meeting in November.<\/p>\n
The departures came about after a disagreement between the board and its majority shareholder over its future governance.<\/p>\n
It’s the latest in a raft of changes at the Danish company, which welcomed a new chief executive in August and announced it would lay off 9,000 staff<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Last month the firm issued a warning on profits due to increased competition from US rivals, and announced a cost-savings programme as it cut its profit growth forecast for the third time this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Widespread adoption of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic diabetes treatment, which is often used off-label as a weight loss drug, and Wegovy had boosted its share price to the point where in summer 2024 it was Europe’s most-valuable company.<\/p>\n Recent competition from rivals like Eli Lilly has eroded that valuation, and shares in Novo Nordisk dipped another 1.7% on the new of a boardroom shake-up.<\/p>\n The departures come after a disagreement between board members from the pharmaceutical company and its majority shareholder, the non-profit Novo Nordisk Foundation, on the extent of changes needed.<\/p>\n The Novo Nordisk Foundation owns 28.1% of the company’s shares, but holds a three-quarter share of the voting rights, which indicates that it holds a lot of sway with how the company is run and who holds senior roles.<\/p>\n Outgoing chair Mr Lund said that the Novo Nordisk board had proposed bringing in several new board members to add new skills, but the Novo Nordisk Foundation “wanted a more extensive reconfiguration”.<\/p>\n