Danish pharmaceuticals giant Novo Nordisk on Tuesday raised its full-year forecast for sales and operating profit on an adjusted basis to decline by up to six per cent at constant exchange rates in 2026, better than prior guidance of a four per cent to 12 per cent decline for both metrics.

This followed a strong adjusted second-quarter profit that exceeded expectations, driven by sales of a new Wegovy weight-loss tablet, which launched in January in the U.S. and was recently approved in Europe.

“The increased U.S. GLP-1 momentum, combined with continued growth and new launches in International Operations, has led us to further raise our 2026 guidance for both adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit,” Its CEO, Mike Doustdar, said in a statement.

Mr Doustdar noted the continued rapid adoption of Wegovy pill in the U.S., “which has reached more than five million prescriptions since its launch, alongside encouraging early uptake in markets” outside the U.S.

The weight-loss drugmaker of Ozempic and Wegovy reported an adjusted operating profit of $5.15 billion in the second quarter, representing an 11 per cent gain on a constant-exchange-rate basis, while reported net sales reached 78.5 billion kroner, up three per cent at constant exchange rates.