Business is booming for the maker of weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic — so much so that it is threatening luxury giant LVMH's crown as Europe's most valuable firm

• Novo Nordisk has been trading places with LVMH for the title of Europe's most valuable company.
• The Danish pharmaceutical giant makes the buzzy weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic.

Novo Nordisk, the maker of weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic, has been trading places with French luxury-goods conglomerate LVMH for the title of now Europe's most valuable firm.

As of Tuesday morning, the Danish pharmaceutical giant had fallen behind again. Novo Nordisk had a market cap of $423.645 billion, with shares closing at $189.31 on Friday. LVMH, which owns brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Tiffany & Co, had a market cap of a $426.922 billion, with shares closing at $166.94 on Friday.

Ozempic, a once-a-week at-home injection made from semaglutide used to treat type 2 diabetes, was approved by the FDA in 2017. Doctors can prescribe it "off label" to help with weight loss.

Four years later, the FDA approved Wegovy, a stronger dose of the drug that helps people lose weight by suppressing feelings of hunger, for people with a BMI of 30 or more or people with a BMI higher than 27 who also have at least one weight-related ailment.

Use of the drug has boomed in recent months, and celebrities including Elon Musk have said they use it. Novo Nordisk made around 35 billion kroner (about $5 billion) from the sale of GLP-1 products – certain types of diabetes and weight-loss drugs including those containing semaglutide – in North America in the first six months of 2023, making up around a third of the company's total revenues across all its markets and products.

But some US insurers have said they'll no longer cover the cost of Wegovy, citing its expense and arguing that it would put up premiums for everyone. This has left some people with the choice of either not using the drug, which has proven effective so far, or footing high bills for life.

The 100-year-old business posted 107.7 billion Danish kroner ($15.5 billion) in total revenues for the first half of 2023, up around 30% year-over-year. The UK's NHS recently said that it plans to begin giving out some limited supplies of Wegovy for weight management.

LVMH, meanwhile, is controlled in large part by CEO Bernard Arnault, the world's second-richest person. Arnault and his family own around 48% of the company's total shares.