Novo Nordisk said it will tighten spending and may resort to layoffs after warning that sales growth of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy is slowing under pressure from Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and a flourishing grey market in compounded versions of the medicine. Outgoing chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told Danish broadcaster DR on 6 August that job cuts ‘will probably be hard to avoid’ as the company adjusts to weaker demand and steeper price competition, especially in the United States. The Danish drugmaker, which became Europe’s most valuable company last year on a $650 billion market capitalisation, has lost roughly $95 billion in value since it cut its 2025 outlook in late July. Finance chief Karsten Munk Knudsen said more than one million U.S. patients still use compounded GLP-1 drugs despite a May 22 FDA ban, and the firm now forecasts markedly lower growth in the second half. Novo is cancelling eight research projects and trimming investment plans to protect margins. In parallel, Novo is intensifying a legal campaign aimed at stem­ming copycat Wegovy sales. The company filed 14 new U.S. lawsuits last week against telehealth providers, weight-loss clinics and small pharmacies but has yet to sue high-profile telehealth firm Hims & Hers, whose compounded semaglutide products remain on the market. Analysts say the broadened litigation could pressure larger players to negotiate as courts weigh the scope of compounding exemptions. Leadership of the company passes to Maziar ‘Mike’ Doustdar on 7 August. The incoming chief executive has pledged to ‘operate more efficiently’ while accelerating the pipeline beyond Wegovy and Ozempic as rivals race to launch next-generation obesity treatments.