Novo Nordisk, the maker of the blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy, is not looking to make a big acquisition right now, its chief executive said — a notable stance for a company facing mounting competitive pressure.
Speaking after second-quarter results, CEO Maziar “Mike” Doustdar — about a year into the job — said Novo is “not currently in a position to pursue large-scale M&A,” and will instead focus on smaller bolt-on deals. “I’m a person who never starts with a no” to transformative deals one day, he said, “but you have to be in a very different situation than Novo Nordisk is in today.”
Why the caution
Novo has hit a rough patch. Its experimental drug ziltivekimab failed a Phase 3 trial, and its next-generation obesity candidate CagriSema fell short against Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide. Sales need stabilizing: in the second quarter, oral Wegovy sales came in about 20% below analyst expectations, even as Lilly presses its advantage in the obesity and diabetes market.
Deals it has — and hasn’t — done
Novo isn’t sitting still on smaller deals: in October 2025 it acquired liver-disease specialist Akero Therapeutics for $5.2 billion. But it also lost a roughly $10 billion deal for Metsera to Pfizer. Doustdar said the company keeps reviewing opportunities — it is “in every data room” — while betting for now on fixing and advancing its own pipeline rather than making a transformative bet.