Novo Nordisk’s chief executive has signalled openness to listing the Danish drugmaker’s shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange.
CEO Doustdar told a newspaper that he sees clear advantages in pursuing a direct NYSE listing, though no formal process is currently underway.
“I clearly do see some advantages with that,” Doustdar said when asked whether Novo would consider a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
The United States accounts for more than half of Novo’s total revenue and represents the largest market for its diabetes and obesity drug portfolio.
Doustdar pointed to a significant geographic shift in Novo’s investor base as a key reason the idea deserves serious consideration.
“Our investor community to a larger extent has shifted over the last 20 years (outside of) Scandinavia, and we are increasingly speaking to investors in the US,” Doustdar said.
The CEO also framed his approach to the proposal in characteristically open terms, stopping well short of an outright rejection.
“I’m a type who doesn’t start with a ‘no’ typically; I start with ‘maybe. Can you give me the pros and the cons of that and let’s have a dialogue and discussions about it,” Doustdar said.
The remarks come as Doustdar navigates a period of significant turbulence at Novo, which was considered Europe’s most valuable company as recently as Summer 2025.
Competition from Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Mounjaro and Zepbound has dramatically compressed Novo’s share of the metabolic medicine market, particularly in the United States.
A series of high-profile pipeline setbacks, including the collapse of a TransCon collaboration with Ascendis and phase 3 failures for blockbuster hopeful ziltivekimab, have added further pressure on the company.
Since taking over, Doustdar has cut thousands of jobs and launched a branding overhaul designed to redirect funds toward research and development.
At his first capital markets day earlier this week, Novo’s leadership announced plans to launch five blockbuster drugs by 2030 and increase oral Wegovy production capacity.
The company also unveiled plans to build a new consumer-focused business arm as part of its broader strategic repositioning.
Some shareholders, as first reported by Reuters, are pushing Novo to pursue more mergers and acquisitions to strengthen its pipeline, mirroring the aggressive dealmaking strategy of rival Eli Lilly.
Doustdar told the Financial Times that dealmaking would continue but remain disciplined, and that the company would not be “going Christmas shopping” just because dealmaking is now in fashion.