How I knew when to start backing Novo Nordisk’s biggest rival instead

THE folks in Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s orbit seem awfully easy to catch off-guard. When its then chief executive officer Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen was ousted in May, you could have knocked industry analysts over with a feather. Jorgensen himself reportedly had not seen his own sacking coming.

Last week, the beleaguered pharmaceutical giant raised yet more eyebrows with news of its massive board overhaul – all six of its independent directors, as well as its board chair, are to step down, following a disagreement with its controlling shareholder over the firm’s future.

I was surprised, too – surprised that this corporate spring-cleaning hadn’t happened sooner.