Novo Nordisk's obesity-fighting drugs fatten Denmark's economy

Novo Nordisk's blockbuster narcotics Ozempic and Wegovy person slimmed down Hollywood stars and millions of non-celebrities worldwide — each while adding awesome heft to Denmark's economy. 

Novo Nordisk now has a marketplace headdress of $600 billion, injecting a invited dose of wealthiness into nan Baltic federation while creating thousands of caller jobs, bolstering nationalist pension plans and keeping owe rates low. 

Shrinking waistlines and industries 

Denmark is location to six cardinal of nan world's wealthiest and healthiest people, and little than 1% of Novo's income travel from wrong nan state wherever nan institution was founded successful nan 1920s.

Novo Nordisk is investing billions of dollars into caller plants successful nan larboard metropolis Kalundborg connected nan Danish seaside.

But conscionable a fewer miles down nan roadworthy from nan building cranes sits a quintessential Scandinavian institution: a people schoolhouse that serves arsenic a residential wellness installation for nan mini information of Danes who are diagnosed pinch obesity. Recently, enrollment has declined by almost half.

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Many of those quiet beds are being filled by recently recruited Novo labor arsenic they effort to find imperishable housing. 

Lars Jorgensen, who's been a therapist and life coach astatine nan installation for 20 years, knew Ozempic and Wegovy's occurrence could effect nan facility. For many, nan caller weight-loss narcotics whitethorn beryllium nan reply to their wellness issues, but he hopes immoderate imaginable students will deliberation doubly earlier taking these narcotics for life.

Lars Jorgensen 60 Minutes

"Because they still person nan problem," he said. "The obesity is conscionable a symptom."

On a much macro level, Novo Nordisk's runaway occurrence is opening to shrink full sectors of nan world economy. In a world wherever group are little hungry, accelerated nutrient chains and large container stores person been forced to tighten their belts. 

Wealth, nan Danish way

Novo Nordisk's caller occurrence is simply a constituent of pridefulness successful Denmark. The institution is Europe's largest and its marketplace headdress is larger than nan full country's GDP. 

"Everybody has nan emotion that this will spell connected forever," Danish neurologist and writer Peter Lund Madsen said.

Jon Wertheim and Peter Lund Madsen 60 Minutes

Madsen, who has banal successful nan company, is peculiarly proud that Novo Nordisk is now bigger than immoderate firms their neighbors nan Swedes have. 

"They've ever had cars and airplanes and large companies," he said. "But now we person Novo."

In:
• Wegovy
• Ozempic
• Denmark