Denmark's economic growth accelerated in the third quarter, supported by strong exports of pharmaceutical products, a key industry for the small country that is home to weight-loss drug company Novo Nordisk.
Denmark's seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.3% in the third quarter, the biggest quarter-on-quarter growth since the fourth quarter of 2021, according to preliminary data from Statistics Denmark published on Thursday.
The main driver of growth was the pharmaceutical industry, the agency said. Without taking into account the pharmaceutical sector, the economy would grow by 0.7%.
“The growth of the pharmaceutical industry is hugely dominated by Novo Nordisk, so it undoubtedly had a very strong impact on GDP in Q3,” Las Olsen, chief economist at Danske Bank, told CNBC. “It looks like that [rok 2025] “will be another year in which Novo Nordisk will make a real contribution to the growth of Danish GDP.”
The pharmaceutical sector has long been an important driver of Denmark's open and export-dependent economy.
Ozempic and Wegovy treat diabetes, obesity and the economy Obesity in the EU
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Mateusz Krymski / PAP / photos
Since Novo Nordisk's explosive growth over the past three years, Denmark has experienced one of the highest growth rates in Europe, helped by the huge success of diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Statistics Denmark reported that Danish exports increased by 4.1%. in the third quarter, citing contributions from the pharmaceutical industry. Exports of goods increased by 4.7%.
“Progress in exports of goods is primarily due to a significant increase in exports of processed goods and an increase in exports of chemicals and chemical products,” the agency said. “Progress in the latter case should be seen in the context of increasing production in the pharmaceutical industry and falling prices in this sector.”
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With quarterly sales of more than 70 billion Danish kroner (about $11 billion) and a market value of 1.4 trillion Danish kroner, Novo dominates the Danish pharmaceutical sector.
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Despite huge profits and high margins, Novo's position began to wane as competition intensified, especially in the key U.S. market, where Eli Lilly quickly gained share in the lucrative GLP-1 analogue market even as it launched competing drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, years after Novo.
This dynamic has led to a decline in Novo's share price over the past 18 months. The stock is down 49% since the beginning of the year.
In the third quarter of 2025, Novo reported its first quarter-over-quarter sales decline since the beginning of 2024. Year-over-year, sales were still up 5.1%.
Novo has repeatedly significantly lowered its forecasts this year, citing challenges in the US market. The company has also started a reorganization program, which includes the layoff of over 10 percent. global workforce under the leadership of new CEO Mike Doustdar.
Source: CNBC
