The slimming pen has become a pill. And the owner of Ozempic and Wegovy is profiting from it.

After going "from heaven to hell," the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk seems to have found a new formula to grow again: the slimming pill.

Since the Ozempic slimming pen , which became a global sensation, lost ground following the arrival of Mounjaro from competitor Eli Lilly , Novo Nordisk has been finding it difficult to please investors.

But on Friday, January 16th, the company's shares rose by more than 8% on the New York Stock Exchange. On the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, the increase reached 6.5%. The reason was the successful launch of the Wegovy tablet in the United States.

In about 10 days, 3,071 prescriptions were issued for the purchase of the oral weight-loss solution, which has surprised analysts.

Data from the initial sales results of the product in the American market, the main market for obesity treatment worldwide, offer insight into the impact of the first tablet model to reach pharmacies.

And for now, the company will navigate this innovative market alone, just as it did with pens. The expectation is that, by April, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will decide whether or not to approve the registration of Eli Lilly's semaglutide tablet.

Initially, Novo Nordisk is prioritizing service in the United States before expanding sales of the Wegovy tablet to other countries, in an attempt to avoid what happened with the launch of the pen in the country in 2021, when product shortages were reported.

"The initial signs are positive and we are encouraged by the feedback from our employees," the company said in a statement, according to Reuters , although it acknowledged that it is still too early to talk about sales trends for the oral medication.

Analysts at UBS bank say that if prescriptions for the pill exceed 400,000 in the first quarter, it would be comparable to the launch of tirrizepatide, manufactured under the trade names Mounjaro and Zepbound by Eli Lilly, which was stronger than the Danish company's pen.

Experts at the German bank Berenberg believe that Novo Nordisk's slimming pill could generate around US$1 billion in sales by 2026, if the company manages to take full advantage of the drug's pioneering status and the period in which it will operate alone in the pharmaceutical market.

The company's new phase comes six months after the change of global CEO. In July 2025, Maziar Mike Doustdar took over from Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, with the mission of regaining ground and capturing new growth opportunities in the area of combating obesity.

The tablets are being sold in the CVS pharmacy chain, the largest in the United States, and Costco, as well as through other companies' digital channels and its own online pharmacy network, NovoCare.

"There are early indications that the Wegovy tablet is an attractive option for both new patients and those seeking to maintain progress made with another GLP-1," Zach Reitano, CEO and co-founder of Ro, a telehealth company, told Reuters .

Suchita Shah, senior partner at the BCG healthcare consulting firm in the United States, says that the launch of the Novo Nordisk pill and, subsequently, the Lilly pill, will boost the weight-loss market this year.

Data from the consulting firm Fortune Business Insights shows that the global market for GLP-1 analog drugs is worth US$62 billion. The United States accounts for 55% of this share. Brazil has about 3% of this market.

In September 2023, at the height of Ozempic's global popularity, Novo Nordisk became the most valuable company in Europe, valued at US$425 billion at that time, surpassing the French luxury group LVMH. In March 2024, it even overtook Tesla.

Currently, the market value of the Danish pharmaceutical company is US$209.25 billion, less than half of what it was worth two and a half years ago. Over the past 12 months on the NYSE, the company's shares have fallen by 25.5%. In Denmark, the accumulated devaluation is 35.3%.