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:
Many thanks to our fantastic Season 14 partners!
J.P. Morgan Payments
bit.ly/acquiredJPMP1yt
ServiceNow
bit.ly/acquiredsn
Vanta
bit.ly/acquiredvanta
More Acquired:
Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
www.acquired.fm/email
Join the Slack
acquired.fm/slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
pod.link/acquiredlp
Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!
www.acquired.fm/store
Links:
Chart: US Healthcare Spend by Category
www.drugchannels.net/2022/02/...
Chart: US Distribution and Reimbursement System (for pharmaceutical drugs)
www.drugchannels.net/2019/03/...
Chart: Insulin Supply Chain
diabetesjournals.org/view-lar...
KZfaq Talk: What People Get Wrong about the Finances of the Drug Industry
• Dr. Jack Scannell. Wha...
Alex Telford: The pharma industry from Paul Janssen to today: why drugs got harder to develop and what we can do about it
atelfo.github.io/2023/12/23/b...
Out-of-Pocket Health: Obesity Drugs
www.outofpocket.health/p/lets...
Out-of-Pocket Health: US Healthcare System Problems
www.outofpocket.health/p/all-...
All episode sources
docs.google.com/document/d/1p...
Carve Outs:
Noxgear Tracer 2 running vest
www.noxgear.com/tracer2
Drops of God
www.imdb.com/title/tt15282746/
Wool by Hugh Howey
www.amazon.com/Wool-Hugh-Howe...
Mere Mortals at San Francisco Ballet
www.sfballet.org/productions/...
Blackberry
www.imdb.com/title/tt21867434/
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.