Weight loss drug industry injects wealth into Novo Nordisk home country

It has nan ringing of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale—if a supremely ironic one. Tiny Denmark is location to six cardinal of nan world's wealthiest and healthiest people—all those muesli-munching cyclists…. moreover their missive O sometimes comes slashed successful half. But, Denmark is besides location to what is abruptly Europe's largest company—Novo Nordisk…. a pharmaceutical patient pinch a marketplace headdress of a half trillion dollars… acknowledgment to products that…wait for it… combat obesity. Novo's narcotics Ozempic and Wegovy person slimmed down Hollywood stars and millions of non-celebrities worldwide—while adding awesome heft to Denmark's economy. We recreation to nan Baltic to spot really a state pinch a slender ego is coping pinch this astir improbable injection of awesome wealth. 

Just different Copenhagen commuter headed disconnected to activity successful nan morning… Lotte Bjerre Knudsen goes unnoticed... first connected nan train… then, pep successful her step, stepping from nan position to nan agency she shares pinch 2 others. Understating matters—as 1 does successful Denmark—you'd ne'er cognize from appearances that she is nan intelligence whose investigation astatine Novo Nordisk led to possibly nan astir revolutionary supplier this century. 

Lotte Knudsen: I'm truthful grateful. I was ever conscionable been a nerdy small intelligence (laugh) who benignant of recovered location present successful this institution for 35 years.

Jon Wertheim: Is that really your consciousness of aforesaid still these days? 

Lotte Knudsen: I'm proud, but I'm besides humble, and really very focused connected nan truth that it was-- it was a team-- it was a squad effort.

Lotte Knudsen 60 Minutes

Modesty aside, her discoveries helped create Ozempic and Wegovy, which not only dainty Type 2 glucosuria and obesity but are now approved for treating cardiovascular, kidney, and liver illness arsenic well. This, of course, has made her a billion–…ehh, not truthful fast.

Lotte Knudsen: You know, I'm really not ace willing successful really having a full batch of money. I don't deliberation that it doesn't look for illustration it's making group happy, right? 

Jon Wertheim: Money's not thing that's important to you--

Lotte Knudsen: I-- I for illustration to salary my taxes, I for illustration nan nine that we unrecorded in. I for illustration that there's adjacent entree to-- to healthcare. I really for illustration that.

Long arsenic she brought it up, let's get this retired of nan way: location is very small rotten successful nan State of Denmark. This is nan onshore that gave america Lego… state of pedaling… each sportfishing nets and information nets. And today, Novo Nordisk's occurrence and nan spike successful request for Ozempic is fattening nan country's economy—creating thousands of jobs, bolstering nationalist pension plans, keeping owe rates low. Novo now has a marketplace headdress larger than nan full country's GDP. 

Giving emergence to a caller nationalist emblem: narcotics truthful celebrated they've go embedded successful popular culture… astatine slightest successful nan U.S. wherever nan institution advertises liberally—including on this broadcast…. But successful Denmark, pharmaceutical advertizing is illegal.

Peter Lund Madsen: This is very, very unfamiliar for Danish persons. This benignant of  advertisement. They wouldn't for illustration it. It's not very Danish.

Peter Lund Madsen is simply a celebrated neurologist and writer… and for illustration astir Danes, delighted that America's request for Novo Nordisk's narcotics is Denmark's gain.

Jon Wertheim: Help america understand wherever this institution fits successful nan Danish nationalist consciousness correct now.

Peter Lund Madsen: Novo is simply a portion of Denmark. Because we're a mini state and, finally, we person a large institution successful Europe. Much bigger than thing nan Swedes have. So, truthful we for illustration that notion.

Jon Wertheim and Peter Lund Madsen 60 Minutes

Jon Wertheim: You tin clasp this complete nan Swedes?

Peter Lund Madsen: Yes. Yes. Because they've ever had cars and airplanes and large companies. But now we person Novo.

Jon Wertheim: Take that, Ikea.

Peter Lund Madsen: Yes, yes, yes. It's a first time.

Danishness courses done Novo Nordisk's bloodstream…The institution was founded successful nan early 1920s, by August Krogh, a Nobel Laureate, and his woman Marie, a doctor. Their information wasn't financial; it was personal. Marie was diagnosed pinch diabetes… astatine nan time, a decease sentence.

Jon Wertheim: This supplier that we're seeing correct present helped prevention nan life of Marie.

Hanne Sindbaek: It did. She was very discreet astir it, she did not want anybody to cognize that she was diabetic. Because Marie was a doctor, she was "not a patient." 

Hanne Sindbaek, a Danish journalist, has written 2 books astir Novo Nordisk and nan Kroghs. We said to her successful a speech theatre successful what was nan Danish Medical School wherever nan Kroghs first met.

Jon Wertheim: Is it adjacent to opportunity that this root communicative of Novo Nordisk starts arsenic a-- arsenic a emotion story?

Hanne Sindbaek: It is perfectly adjacent to say. He was school her, arsenic she was a aesculapian student. He fell successful emotion pinch her correct away. 

When, successful 1922, they heard that Canadian scientists had stumbled upon a occurrence cure for diabetes: insulin… They traveled to Toronto and came location pinch nan authorities to manufacture nan supplier successful Scandinavia. 

Jon Wertheim: Sounds very bully of nan Canadians scientists. Do they inquire for thing other successful return?

Hanne Sindbaek: They asked that cipher should-- personification should profit from it, it should beryllium to nan use of humanity. That was nan "price," you tin say. It was a measurement to get this life-saving supplier retired successful nan world fast.

Jon Wertheim and Hanne Sindbaek 60 Minutes

Back successful Denmark, wrong months, they group up nan Nordisk Insulin Company. In keeping pinch their agreement, they established a non-profit instauration which coming controls 77% of nan company's voting shares. 

Mads Krogsgaard: So nan statement was that if location were revenues and proceeds from nan income of insulin present successful Scandinavia, it should beryllium returned to nine successful nan shape of support for investigation into physiology, and medicine. 

Mads Krogsgaard is nan foundation's CEO. Today it is THE largest philanthropic statement successful nan world, bigger than nan Gates Foundation.

While Novo Nordisk ever focused connected glucosuria drugs, it did branch retired beyond medicine. In nan precocious 80s, young Lotte Knudsen was assigned to nan enzyme team, which had nan noble extremity of making judge reds and whites didn't tally successful nan wash.

Jon Wertheim: You started pinch laundry detergent.

Lotte Knudsen: Yes, I did. Yup. It's nan aforesaid story, right, of conscionable wanting to make a merchandise that's useful.

In nan early 90s, she came crossed a caller study astir a people occurring gut hormone: GLP-1, that lowered humor sweetener levels and suppressed appetite… She thought, if it could beryllium harnessed into a drug, it could revolutionize curen for glucosuria AND obesity. She went to her boss, Novo's caput of investigation Mads Krogsgaard… yes, nan aforesaid feline who now heads nan foundation. 

Jon Wertheim: What do you retrieve astir her?

Mads Krogsgaard: She was nan first 1 to march into my agency pinch reddish hair, and very fired up, showing maine a publication that was not moreover published yet. She was talking very agitatedly astir this. And I was getting excited. 

Jon Wertheim: I understand you besides had to person elder guidance astir obesity, and-- and what it was, that this wasn't a behavioral prime necessarily.

Mads Krogsgaard: They felt, "Just spell up connected a bike. Do immoderate jogging. Do immoderate biking."

Mads Krogsgaard 60 Minutes

Jon Wertheim: Just get disconnected nan sofa and exercise.

Mads Krogsgaard: Yeah. And I started trying to person them that it's not getting connected nan bike. If you're genetically predisposed surviving successful nan situation we are successful today, you are astatine very precocious risk. And thing should beryllium done astir that.

For nan adjacent 20 years, they worked connected that GLP-1 molecule earlier Ozempic yet made it to marketplace arsenic a type 2 glucosuria drug; it took different 4 years for Wegovy to beryllium approved for weight loss. It turned Novo Nordisk from niche player, to a institution bigger than Coca Cola and Procter and Gamble… 

The CEO is Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen... truthful typically Danish, his compensation package of astir $10 million, is dwarfed by his U.S. counterparts. His agency is simply a co-working abstraction atop Novo's Copenhagen headquarters... designed successful nan style of an insulin molecule. 

Jon Wertheim: So your adjacent building needs to beryllium nan molecule of an anti-obesity drug.

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen: Yes, it should. 

Jørgensen is only nan 5th main executive since nan institution was founded. Ask him astir nan weight of nan job, and—no CEO God analyzable here—he defaults to nan institution mantra. The Novo Nordisk way. 

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen 60 Minutes

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen: So nan Novo Nordisk measurement is nan basal reasoning of our founders. And-- and cardinal elements linked to really we dainty each other, really we collaborate. And that's astir being unfastened and honest. It's each astir being accountable.

Jon Wertheim: This sounds almost for illustration a cult, a belief movement, and not truthful overmuch a pharmaceutical firm.

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen: I deliberation nan values are based connected mean quality decent values. 

Jon Wertheim: You admit you're not sounding very overmuch for illustration an American CEO correct now.

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen: Well, I deliberation I'm very grounded arsenic an individual. My upbringing has-- has fixed maine a batch of say, groundness.

And successful Denmark, main executives are expected to beryllium grounded…

Peter Lund Madsen: In Denmark, it's very unrespectable to flash your money. Rich group successful Denmark, they thin to bargain cheaper cars successful bid to enactment retired of trouble.

Jon Wertheim: So nan CEO of Novo Nordisk. If he's driving astir Copenhagen successful a Ferrari aliases a limousine, how-- really does that play?

Peter Lund Madsen: Poorly. But nan different measurement around, if-- if he was driving astir successful a inexpensive car, that would beryllium a very bully point for him. "Oh, I for illustration his driving specified a car." He's a existent Dane. 

But for each of Novo Nordisk's Danish high-mindedness, location is simply a increasing chorus of complaints successful America.

As an avowed socialist, Bernie Sanders whitethorn find plentifulness to for illustration astir Denmark. But astatine a Senate proceeding successful September, Sanders excoriated Jorgensen complete allegations of value gouging… nan CEO told nan committee what he told us: nan benefits of Novo's narcotics to world wellness will, ultimately, prevention trillions of dollars… and if thing is to blasted for nan precocious prices, it's nan fractured U.S. wellness attraction system.

Jon Wertheim: What is nan consequence to nan skeptical American that says, "Come on. This is Big Pharma, this pricing is predatory. They're making money disconnected group pinch wellness problems. This is not Utopia. This is conscionable different big, greedy business"?

• With Novo Nordisk success, is location a "Nokia risk" for Denmark?

Hanne Sindbaek: Of people it's-- it's "greedy." You person to compete successful nan world arsenic it is, and I don't deliberation that Novo Nordisk has each these values conscionable to beryllium "nice." They person it because it's bully business.

Jon Wertheim: They're not unsighted to capitalism? (laugh) There-- there-- location will beryllium rivals--

Hanne Sindbaek: Absolutely not. They are capitalists astatine heart.

Jon Wertheim: And successful this--

Hanne Sindbaek: But you tin beryllium a capitalist pinch awesome values.

And to support up pinch nan world request for Novo's drugs—less than 1% of income travel from inside Denmark—the institution is sinking billions into caller plants worldwide… and conscionable a fewer miles down nan roadworthy from nan cranes, successful nan Danish countryside, sits this quintessential Scandinavian institution… Half boarding school, half summertime campy (and authorities subsidized of course)... it's a wellness installation for nan mini information of Danes who are diagnosed pinch obesity. Recently, enrollment has declined by almost half… and immoderate of nan quiet beds are being filled by, get this, recently recruited Novo labor arsenic they effort to find imperishable housing. 

Lars Jorgensen: That's a measurement we tin summation a small money. Now we person little students. So…

Jon Wertheim: Bit of an irony correct that--

Lars Jorgensen: Yeah, it is.

Lars Jorgensen has been a therapist and life coach present for 20 years. 

Lars Jorgensen 60 Minutes

Jon Wertheim: When you heard these narcotics were coming connected nan marketplace from Denmark, did-- did you think, "Oh, boy, this--

Lars Jorgensen: We did.

Jon Wertheim: --this could effect us?"

Lars Jorgensen:  Yes, we did.

Jon Wertheim: So if personification says, "I'm conscionable gonna return these anti-obesity narcotics alternatively than travel here," what would you show them? 

Lars Jorgensen: I would show them to deliberation astir what made you eat excessively overmuch successful nan first place. What was that about? Why do you request to return medicine? And for immoderate people, it would beryllium a cleanable solution. No uncertainty astir that. But for galore people, it will not be. Because they still person nan problem, nan obesity is conscionable a symptom.

Jon Wertheim: That this goes measurement beyond--

Lars Jorgensen: Exactly.

Jon Wertheim: --what nan standard says.

Lars Jorgensen: Exactly.

On a much macro level, Novo Nordisk's runaway occurrence is opening to shrink full sectors of nan world economy… accelerated food.… large container stores…. moreover Krispy Kreme. They're already tightening their belts successful a beingness wherever group are little hungry. Still, location are competitors and counterfeits retired there. And Chinese companies are already successful objective tests for generics.

But for now, nan world's weight surplus remains nan Danes'... and Peter Lund Madsen's…  economical surplus…  

Jon Wertheim: Do you ain Novo Nordisk stock?

Peter Lund Madsen: Yes. I person for galore years, for illustration galore different group successful Denmark 

Jon Wertheim: How (laugh) are you emotion astir your investment?

Peter Lund Madsen: Everybody has nan emotion that this will spell connected forever. And they are very-- they're very-- yes, happy.

Produced by Michael H. Gavshon. Associate producer, Nadim Roberts. Broadcast associate, Elizabeth Germino. Edited by Matthew Lev.

In:
• Wegovy
• Ozempic
• Denmark