Denmark's economical maturation accelerated successful the 3rd quarter, boosted by beardown pharmaceutical exports, a cardinal manufacture for the tiny Nordic state location to value nonaccomplishment drugmaker Novo Nordisk.
Denmark's seasonally adjusted gross home merchandise (GDP) grew by 2.3% successful the 3rd quarter, the largest quarter-on-quarter enlargement since the 4th fourth of 2021, a preliminary speechmaking from Statistics Denmark showed Thursday.
The main operator of maturation was the pharmaceutical industry, the bureau said. Excluding pharma, the system would person grown by 0.7%.
"The pharmaceutical industry's maturation is very, precise overmuch dominated by Novo Nordisk, truthful nary uncertainty determination was a precise beardown effect connected GDP successful Q3," Las Olsen, main economist astatine Danske Bank, told CNBC. "It seems that [2025] volition beryllium different twelvemonth wherever Novo Nordisk is truly adding to Danish GDP growth."
Pharma has agelong been an important maturation operator for the unfastened and export-reliant system of Denmark.
However, since the meteoric emergence of Novo Nordisk implicit the past 3 years, Denmark has logged 1 of the highest maturation rates successful Europe, helped by the immense occurrence of Novo's diabetes and value nonaccomplishment drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Danish exports grew by 4.1% successful the 3rd quarter, Statistics Denmark said, citing the pharmaceutical industry's contributions. Goods exports accrued by 4.7%.
"The advancement successful goods exports is chiefly owed to a beardown summation successful exports of processed goods, and an summation successful exports of chemicals and chemic products," the bureau said. "The latter's advancement should beryllium seen successful airy of the pharmaceutical industry's accumulation maturation and the industry's falling prices."
Earlier this week, Novo Nordisk lowered the price of Ozempic and Wegovy to $349 from $499 for the lowest dose for patients paying retired of pocket. It comes soon aft Novo and rival Eli Lilly chopped a deal with the Trump medication to little prices for its obesity treatments, amid the president's propulsion for little cause prices for Americans.
Novo Nordisk's outsized influence
With quarterly income of much than 70 cardinal Danish kroner (about $11 billion) and a marketplace worth of 1.4 trillion Danish kroner, Novo dominates the Danish pharmaceutical sector.
Despite monolithic profits and wide margins, Novo's fortunes person started to wane arsenic contention heats up, particularly successful the cardinal U.S. market, wherever Eli Lilly rapidly grabbed marketplace stock of the lucrative GLP-1 market, contempt having launched its rival drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, years aft Novo.
The dynamics person led to a lagging Novo stock terms implicit the past 18 months. The banal is down 49% year-to-date but was 2.4% higher successful greeting trading connected Thursday, outperforming the broader European Stoxx 600 index.
In the 3rd 4th of 2025, Novo posted its archetypal quarter-on-quarter income diminution since aboriginal 2024. Year-over-year, income inactive grew by 5.1%.
"There is simply a flimsy disconnect betwixt what Novo Nordisk is saying and their net reports and [the Danish GDP figures]," economist Lars Christensen told CNBC.
This year, Novo has importantly chopped its guidance a fig of times, citing challenges successful the U.S. market. The institution has besides kicked disconnected a reorganization programme that volition see laying disconnected more than 10% of its planetary workforce nether caller CEO Mike Doustdar.
In presumption of Novo price, the concern for Novo looks somber, Christensen said. "But if you spot the existent enactment they have, it has been precise high."
"In presumption of management, successful presumption of layoffs, successful presumption of the banal price, and each that creates immoderate sound wherever it's like: "Can these numbers beryllium right?'" Christensen said of the beardown GDP numbers. "But if you conscionable look astatine the existent enlargement plan, the effect that they are selling their products, and truthful forth… There is nary uncertainty that Novo is continuing to person a important affirmative impact."
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