11:23 AM EDT, 05/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) shares fell intraday Friday after the Danish drugmaker said its chief executive, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, agreed to step down amid market challenges and share price declines.

Jorgensen, who has been Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) CEO since 2017, will continue to serve in the top role to ensure a smooth transition, while a search is underway for his successor, the company said in a statement.

The announcement comes due to recent market challenges, as well as its share price performance since the middle of last year, Novo said. Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) US-listed shares were down 3.5% in Friday trading. The stock has declined 52% over the past 12 months.

Novo Nordisk Foundation Chair Lars Rebien Sorensen, who served as the company's CEO between 2000 and 2016, is joining the drugmaker's board initially as an observer, and intends to be nominated as a board member at the company's annual general meeting in 2026, the statement said. The foundation, which controls the majority of votes at Novo Nordisk ( NVO ), has voiced its intention to increase its representation on the Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) board.

"Considering the recent market challenges, the share price decline, and the wish from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) board and Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen have jointly concluded that initiating a CEO succession is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders," the company said.

Earlier in May, Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) tempered its 2025 sales outlook as competition from compounded obesity and diabetes drugs in the US impacted the early part of the year.

For full-year 2025, the pharmaceutical company anticipates currency-neutral sales to grow between 13% and 21%, it said at the time, compared with the previous growth range of 16% to 24%. The company lowered its operating profit growth expectation to between 16% and 24% from a previous outlook of 19% to 27%.

"Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) strategy remains unchanged, and the board is confident in the company's current business plans and its ability to execute on the plans," the company's board chair, Helge Lund, said Friday.

Price: 63.69, Change: -2.47, Percent Change: -3.73