The popularity of Novo Nordisk's (NVO) blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy, and diabetes drug Ozempic, for weight loss, was so great in 2023 that it has been credited with propping up the entire economy of Denmark. It is that impact and buzz that led Yahoo Finance to name Novo Nordisk its 2023 Company of the Year.

Novo's gross profit in 2023 was nearly $26 billion, or almost a 27% increase year-over-year. And the stock is on a tear, up more than 50% in the past year.

Let’s look at what started Novo’s boom with Beyond the Ticker, where we take a closer look at some of the company's biggest moments.

1923

Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium commercialized the production of insulin.

1925

Two employees broke away from Nordisk to form rival Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium.

1982

Nordisk first established its presence in the United States.

1985

The NovoPen, the first insulin pen device, launched.

1989

Nordisk and Novo merged to become Novo Nordisk A/S, the world's largest producer of insulin.

2017

The FDA approved Ozempic for diabetes.

2021

The FDA approved Ozempic to treat obesity in diabetes patients. The FDA also approved Wegovy for weight loss in obese or overweight adults. These two products launched a new era in GLP-1s, which have been around since 2005.

2020 - present

Novo has spent more than $7 billion on diabetes and obesity biotechs, fortifying its lead in the brand new obesity market.

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Editor's note: This video was produced by Zach Faulds.

Video Transcript

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- Novo Nordisk is a Danish multinational company that has built itself into a force in the weight loss industry, and by some accounts, created an obesity market out of thin air. The popularity of its blockbuster obesity drug, Wegovy, and diabetes drug, Ozempic for weight loss, was so great that it has been credited with propping up the entire economy of Denmark.

It is that impact and buzz that led "Yahoo Finance" to name Novo Nordisk its 2023 Company of the Year. Novo's gross profit in 2023 was nearly $26 billion or almost a 27% increase year over year. And the stock is on a tear, up more than 50% in the past year.

The company began double-digit profit growth in 2020. So let's look at what started Novo's boom with "Beyond the Ticker," where we take a closer look at some of the company's biggest moments. Novo's origins trace back to 1923, when Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium commercialized insulin that its founder brought over from Canada. Two years later, two employees broke away to form a rival, Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium.

Nearly five decades later is when Nordisk first established its presence in the United States. And in 1985, launched the NovoPen, the first insulin pen device. Four years later, the two competing Nordisk and Novo entities merged to become the present day giant and the world's largest producer of insulin.

The company finally shifted away from its reliance on insulin revenues in 2017, when the FDA approved Ozempic for diabetes, and subsequently, to treat obesity in diabetic patients in 2021. That was the same year Wegovy was approved for weight loss in obese or overweight adults without diabetes. These two products launched a new era in GLP-1s, which have been around since 2005.

Since 2020, Novo has been on an acquisition spree, shelling out more than $7 billion on diabetes and obesity biotechs, fortifying its lead in the brand new obesity market.

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