Ozempic drugmaker Novo Nordisk dominates Danish economy

The drugmaker has created thousands of jobs in the six-million-person country — and more will come as Novo expands across multiple locations.

Novo is in a delicate position. If it continues to expand, so too will the power and influence it exerts in Denmark. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The development of semaglutide, the key ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, has transformed their maker Novo Nordisk into Europe’s most valuable company, with profound implications for its home country of Denmark.

The diabetes and obesity drugs generated billions in sales and blown open a new market for weight loss drugs, which Goldman Sachs estimates will reach $100bn (€93.6bn) a year by 2030.