The name Ozempic no longer seems unknown at all. It was Novo Nordisk’s flagship drug that catapulted the company (the company became the most valuable company in the European market, overtaking LVMH). The drug was developed to treat type 2 diabetes, but quickly became popular due to its weight loss power. The American Eli Lilly also has a similar drug which has increased its activity, Zepbound. The two companies have monopolized the limelight in the global pharmaceutical sector, but on the European stock market the stars are actually different: UCB and Zealand pharmacies will double their stock market value in 2024.
According to the Nordic manager, DNB sees the diabetes segment as the most attractive biopharmaceutical market: “Novo Nordisk and Eliy Lilly dominate the diabetes market and fight obesity with their popular drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound.” Actually, Goldman Sachs estimates global diabetes market sales to be worth $130 billion by 2030.. Its performance on the stock market is however uneven and while the American company records increases of more than 50% over the year, Novo Nordisk reassesses around 14%, even if DNB suggests that “we do not expect the Things are changing a lot for the Danish industry leader, as there is no doubt that demand for these weight loss drugs will exceed supply in the coming quarters and even years.”
However, compared to them, UCB and Zealand achieved a revaluation of more than 100% in the current year, namely 113% and 108%, respectively. Increases which, moreover, place the two companies between the most optimistic companies in 2024 across the Old Continent. In the case of UCB, a Belgian company, its strong rise comes from the success of the drug it developed to treat skin diseases, Bimzelx. “Sales of Bimzelx have been surprisingly strong since its approved launch in the United States a year ago to treat psoriasis. The drug is also available in Europe for hidradenitis suppurativa, a debilitating disease that causes painful skin abscesses and scars,” they explain. Bloomberg.
According to Bloombergsome analysts estimate the psoriasis market’s revenue value at $25 billion or more by 2030, while hidradenitis suppurativa is expected to reach $10 billion in revenue by 2035. “Bimzelx is key to the thesis investment bank and the ongoing launches will be a growth engine for the title”, they explain from the investment bank TD Cowen. “We are very convinced of the opportunity of hidradenitis suppurativa, therefore we believe UCB will continue to outperform“, they add.
During 2024, the Belgian company reached historic highs on the stock market and increased its market value by almost 17.4 billion euros this yearuntil its capitalization reaches 32.7 billion euros, in what will be the most bullish year in its stock market history. Even if the consensus of analysts who collect Bloomberg estimates that its shares are trading flat, there are already up to six investment banks offering market valuations for the company above 180 euros, which would allow it to continue to rise by another 7% in the following months (the highest valuations reach 200 euros per share).
For its part, the Danish pharmaceutical laboratory dares to compete directly with drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which has also been the subject of an unstoppable stock market rise. Zaeland is developing a weight loss drug, Boehringer. From Bloomberg Intelligence highlights that this drug “has great sales potential, provided Boehringer’s commercial execution and offering are strong. Product tolerability is likely to improve in longer phase 3 trials in 2026 , which would pave the way for approval in 2027.”
The growth potential that this drug can represent for its business has led investors to buy its shares with such force that the pharmaceutical company has gone from less than 3 billion euros in capitalization at the end of 2023 to almost 7,400 million currently. During this year, its price also reached its highest levels in its entire history. Unlike UCB, the consensus of experts collected Bloomberg Yeah sees growth in its titles in the following months, of 26% precisely.
The exceptional performance of the Danish company on the stock market has led the Deutsche Bank analysis team to initiate coverage on its shares, for which it recommends to hold, alleging that the optimism around the new drugs is already reflected in the current assessment.
