Novo Nordisk flags board members for re-election amid restructuring efforts

Core Insights - Novo Nordisk's Board of Directors is undergoing a revamp, nominating Jan van de Winkel and Ramona Sequeira for a one-year term, pending shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on March 26 [1] - The board is also seeking the re-election of existing members, including Lars Rebien Sørensen as chair and Cees de Jong as vice chair [4] Group 1: Board Changes - Jan van de Winkel has over 25 years of experience in the pharma industry, currently serving as CEO of Genmab since 2010, and has held various C-suite roles [2] - Ramona Sequeira has over 30 years of experience in pharma leadership, previously serving as president of Takeda's global portfolio division and currently on the boards of Organon and Edwards Lifesciences [3] - The board's restructuring follows a significant change in October 2025, when seven members resigned due to disagreements with the Novo Nordisk Foundation regarding the board's future composition [6] Group 2: Market Challenges - Novo Nordisk is facing competition from Eli Lilly in the cardiometabolic market, forecasting a sales dip of up to 13% in 2026 due to pricing pressures from the Most Favored Nation (MFN) policy in the US [7] - Despite having a lead in the oral GLP-1RA market with the approval of oral Wegovy (semaglutide), Eli Lilly's orforglipron is expected to enter the market in April 2023, with projected sales of $14.3 billion by 2031 [8] Group 3: Shareholder Influence - The Novo Nordisk Foundation, the majority shareholder, has recommended Helena Saxon for a board position, who has prior experience on the board of Sobi and currently serves on the board of H&M [5]