logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2024
3h 42m

Novo Nordisk (Ozempic)

Ben Gilbert And David Rosenthal
About this episode

Last year Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, overtook LVMH to become Europe’s most valuable company. And the pull for Acquired to finally tackle healthcare (18% of US GDP!) became too strong for us to resist. While we didn’t know much about Novo Nordisk before diving in, our first thought was, “wow, seems like these new diabetes and obesity drugs mean serious trouble for big insulin companies.”

And then… we realized that Novo Nordisk IS the big insulin company. And in a story befitting of Steve Jobs and Apple, they’d just disrupted themselves with the drug equivalent of an iPhone moment. Once we dug further, we quickly realized this company has it all: an incredible 100+ year history filled with Nobel Prizes, bitter personal rivalries, board room dramas, a generation-defining silicon valley innovation, lone voices persevering against all odds — and oh yeah, the world’s largest charitable foundation at its helm. Tune in for one incredible story!

Sponsors:

Anrok: https://bit.ly/anrokacquired
WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24


More Acquired!:

© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC


Links:

Carve Outs:

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Up next
Today
Alphabet Inc.
In its first six years from 1998 to 2004, Google built one of the greatest products of all time (and certainly the greatest business of all time) with Search. Then in its next six years from 2005 to 2011, Google built seven (!) more billion+ user products: Gmail, Maps, Drive and ... Show More
4h 11m
Jul 16
The Jamie Dimon Interview
We sit down with Jamie Dimon for a live conversation at Radio City Music Hall, covering the incredible journey from his 1998 firing at Citgroup (where he was widely expected to become CEO) to building the most powerful bank in the world. Today JPMorgan Chase is a juggernaut — the ... Show More
1h 6m
Jun 30
Google
We tell the story of the single greatest business ever created: Google search. From its origins as a Stanford research project called BackRub, Google became the front door to the internet. Today it’s an essential service for over half the world, and one that generates more profit ... Show More
3h 39m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
Semaglutide: Decoding the hype around the weight loss wonder drug
From Elon Musk to several Hollywood celebrities, the weight loss wonder drug, semaglutide, is taking the world by storm. What was an unintended consequence of a diabetes control med, the emergence of significant weight loss has raised the expectation of the wonder drug becoming a ... Show More
32m 7s
May 2024
Trillion Dollar Shot, Episode 1: Birth of a Blockbuster
Before Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, there was Lotte Bjerre Knudsen. In the 1990s, the young scientist at the Danish drug company Novo Nordisk was trying to unlock the key to a new technology for treating Type 2 diabetes. To her bosses, Lotte’s project, which focused on ... Show More
40m 51s
Apr 2024
Money Talks: Why weight-loss drugs will reshape the world
More than 1bn people around the world are obese. That means there should be extraordinary demand for drugs to cure or mitigate the condition. Novo Nordisk is now Europe’s most valuable company and Eli Lilly’s market value has more than doubled. Both make the “miracle” drugs that ... Show More
36m 59s
Mar 2024
The Scientific Journey Behind Ozempic (with Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, Novo Nordisk's Chief Scientific Advisor)
On our Novo Nordisk episode, we covered the business of Ozempic, the GLP-1 taking the world by storm. On this episode, we dive into the science of the molecule semaglutide (and its predecessor liraglutide) with the world expert on the topic, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen. Lotte is Novo No ... Show More
1 h
Sep 2023
iPhone Charging Gets a Makeover & Why Cold Medicines are Useless
Episode 146: Neal and Toby list off all the exciting tidbits from Apple's big product event, including the iPhone 15 reveal. Next, how a covid-era government program is affecting poverty rates in America. Plus, quick relief from a cold may be gone as FDA declares a key ingredient ... Show More
25m 26s
Jun 2024
Ozempic Economics: Your Questions Answered
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound have been revolutionary for weight loss. They’re also sparking big changes in many industries – from food to medicine. Wall Street Journal tech editor Bradley Olson – who himself took a GLP-1 drug – and audio reporter Jessic ... Show More
13m 59s
Jun 2024
Robinhood's crypto bet, AI-powered healthcare, and more on the fall of Fisker
As always, there was a lot happening in startup land this week, and the Equity team had so much fun breaking it down for you.On today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Mary Ann and Rebecca discussed Robinhood’s plans to buy European crypto exchange Bitstamp for $200 milli ... Show More
36m 13s
Jun 2024
Trillion Dollar Shot, Episode 4: The Disruptors
The rising popularity of GLP-1 drugs could cause all kinds of ripple effects. According to one estimate, 9% of the U.S. population could be on Ozempic or similar medications by 2030. Meanwhile, drugmakers are already developing the next generation of weight-loss drugs and researc ... Show More
42m 15s
Jan 2023
Terence Flynn: The Next Blockbuster for Pharma?
As new weight management medications are being developed, might the obesity market parallel the likes of hypertension or high blood pressure to become the next blockbuster Pharma category? ----- Transcript ----- Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Terence Flynn, Head of the U. ... Show More
3m 12s