Novo Nordisk is changing its name and its culture to try to compete in the GLP-1 diet-drug wars

By Jaimy Lee

The rebranding was announced a week before a highly anticipated investor day at which the CEO is expected to reveal his strategy for the company

Novo CEO Mike Doustdar took over as CEO of the Danish drug giant last year and is tasked with rebuilding the company to better compete in the fast-changing world of prescription weight-loss drugs.

Novo Nordisk, the Danish drug giant behind Ozempic, is streamlining its corporate culture and shortening its name as it tries to better compete in the market for weight-loss drugs.

The company announced that it will now go by "Novo," although its legal name remains "Novo Nordisk." It also updated the principles that make up the "Novo Way," the company's longstanding internal credo, to focus on customers, competitiveness and speed.

In the recent past, the Novo Way promoted a different set of goals, like being accountable for financial, environmental and social performance; fostering a healthy work environment; and innovating for the benefit of patients and society.

Novo's U.S.-listed stock (NVO) (DK:NOVO.B) was up about 1% in premarket trading on Monday.

The rebranding arrives one week before a highly anticipated capital markets day at which CEO Mike Doustdar is expected to outline the company's strategy under his leadership. He replaced Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen as chief executive in the summer of 2025.

"While we appreciate a re-energized corporate identity, a new name, logo, and slogan must be accompanied by a true strategic change," BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan David Seigerman told investors on Sunday after Danish media reported that a rebranding would be announced.

Novo was the first drugmaker to aggressively test GLP-1 therapies for their potential in weight loss. It brought to market Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes in 2017 and Wegovy for weight loss in 2021. Eli Lilly's GLP-1 medications for weight loss came years later, but that company quickly took the lead in what is now the world's largest-ever pharmaceutical market. Novo has struggled to keep pace with Lilly, a nimble competitor that innovated with the way it sold GLP-1 medications like Zepbound.

Novo last year laid off 11.5% of its global workforce in the biggest corporate layoff in Denmark's history, fired its CEO and largely replaced its board. Since then, Doustdar has been tasked with rebuilding the company - which he is doing, in fits and starts. Former employees previously told MarketWatch that the company's culture was slow to change and that its leadership often made strategic decisions based on Lilly's actions.

Novo's stock is down 22.6% over the past year, while Lilly's shares (LLY) have soared 49.1%.

-Jaimy Lee

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09-14-26 1006ET