Dive Brief:
- Novo Nordisk had a slightly weaker quarter than expected, due in large part to the competitive impact of Eli Lilly's Trulicity entering the market. Overall Q4 2015 profit was up 26% to 8.26 billion kroner—but less than analysts had predicted.
- Costs associated with introducing its new long-acting insulin, along with Saxenda, weighed on overall profits.
- Novo’s top-selling GLP-1 analogue drug Victoza also missed, coming in at 4.9 billion kroner compared to 5.08 billion expected.
Dive Insight:
Novo's stock dropped as much as 7.3% on the release of its fourth quarter earnings, according to Bloomberg.
However, overall sales growth for 2016 is still expected to be in the originally forecast range of 5% to 9%. Novo remains optimistic about the potential for Tresiba in the insulin market, particularly because its data shows a better safety profile in terms of hypoglycemic events.
Not all analysts, concur, however, and it remains to be seen how Novo's earnings will stack up for Q1 2016.