{"text":[[{"start":11.24,"text":"Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have raised their full-year forecasts on the back of soaring demand for weight-loss drugs but shares in the Danish drugmaker sold off as investors worried about its heavy reliance on its blockbuster treatment."}],[{"start":24.96,"text":"Novo Nordisk said on Wednesday that it expected its sales and adjusted operating profit growth to remain flat or fall by as much as 6 per cent this year."}],[{"start":34.16,"text":"It had previously forecast a drop of up to 12 per cent but now has higher expectations for sales of its blockbuster GLP-1 obesity and diabetes products."}],[{"start":44.24,"text":"Novo reported net sales of DKr78.5bn ($12.1bn) in the second quarter of the year, a 3 per cent increase from last year at constant exchange rates. Adjusted operating profit was DKr33.4bn, up 11 per cent at constant currency."}],[{"start":62.66,"text":"Investors took a dim view of Novo’s update, with shares in the Copenhagen-listed group sliding almost 6 per cent on Wednesday afternoon before partly recovering to trade 4.2 per cent lower."}],[{"start":72.84,"text":"The results carried warning signals of a slowdown in the US, Novo’s largest market, where sales at constant exchange rates fell by 4 per cent."}],[{"start":81.92,"text":"Investors remain concerned about Novo’s lack of diversification, with 93 per cent of its revenue in the last quarter coming from obesity and diabetes sales. At US-based Lilly, the two product areas represented about 65 per cent of revenues."}],[{"start":96,"text":"Chief executive Mike Doustdar told the FT he was “surprised” by the negative market reaction given the company’s forecast had improved markedly since its last update. Novo’s numbers were “solid regardless of market reaction on the day”, he said."}],[{"start":110.04,"text":"Eli Lilly reported that its second-quarter revenue jumped 48 per cent to $23bn, fuelled by a sharp rise in sales of obesity and diabetes treatments. International revenue increased 80 per cent."}],[{"start":122.42,"text":"The company said it expected full-year revenue of $85bn to $87bn, more than its previous estimate of $82bn to $85bn. Lilly’s shares rose more than 7 per cent in early trading in New York."}],[{"start":135.52,"text":"Novo’s share price has fallen more than 12 per cent this year, while Lilly’s price has climbed about 4 per cent in 2026."}],[{"start":146.8,"text":"Novo, alongside other major pharma groups, has been forced to reduce prices in the US under pressure from President Donald Trump as part of the Most Favoured Nation deal. But the company is betting that volume growth will eventually make up for more affordable prices."}],[{"start":159.84,"text":"Novo’s Wegovy pill — currently sold in the US, UK, United Arab Emirates and expected to soon launch in Germany — has racked up more than 5mn prescriptions since its launch in January. But it is much cheaper than its injectables, which has weighed on the company’s sales."}],[{"start":177.92,"text":"The company has suffered recent clinical trial setbacks, with a cardiovascular drug failing to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in patients with heart disease, chronic kidney disease and inflammation. In obesity, a trial of experimental drug CagriSema showed that while it achieved similar levels of weight loss to Lilly’s tirzepatide, it was slightly inferior in reducing blood sugar levels."}],[{"start":201.32,"text":"“I seriously respect Lilly,” Doustdar said of his company’s competitor. “I seriously don’t fear Lilly. And this comes through 100 years of competing with Lilly where we have respected one another and made better versions of medications for the benefit of patients.”"}],[{"start":216.92,"text":"Doustdar said the journey to diversify Novo’s business was a “marathon, not a sprint” and that Lilly was not the company’s sole competitor. Instead, he said, Novo “would like to compete with everyone in this field”."}],[{"start":233.96,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785980806_5557.mp3"}