Weight loss drugs are changing the economic picture from many angles. In addition to reshaping the healthcare, retail, and leisure industries, employers—including Bank of America—are now offering access to the medication as part of their healthcare benefits.
In fact, the impact of GLP-1s has become so huge that it is influencing the forecast for the entire Danish economy, which is home to pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk: the company behind Ozempic and Wegovy.
In a special report, the Danmarks Nationalbank (Denmark’s central bank), noted the country’s pharmaceutical industry saw “extraordinary” growth in the first half of 2026, with an increasing share of production taking place abroad under Danish ownership.
The report, released today, adds: “The growth is mainly due to Novo’s sales and production in the U.S. market at the beginning of this year. This reflects Novo’s agreement with the U.S. administration, which, from the turn of the year, has, among other things, provided access to a larger patient base through public health insurance schemes.”
Novo is best known for its obesity and diabetes drugs, but also develops haemophilia (blood clotting) medications and hormone replacement therapies.
However, the report clarifies that the agreement with the U.S. government focuses on weight loss and diabetes medications. The White House announced last year that it had secured ‘advanced most-favored nation’ pricing from Novo, meaning lower prices for Medicare patients and TrumpRx customers. A month later, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Novo’s Wegovy pill, the first of its kind to receive the regulator’s stamp of approval.
The scope of Novo’s growth is now so huge it has allowed the Nationalbank to reexamine its growth estimates for the entire economy. Back in March, the central bank forecast growth of 1.8% in 2026 and 2027, and 2% in 2028. The pharmaceutical sector wasn’t referenced in the update.
In its update this week, the Nationalbank shared growth forecasts of 4% this year, 2.3% in 2027, and 2% in 2028.
The report explains: “The upward revision of 2.2 percentage points mainly reflects two factors that have already occurred: Firstly, growth in the first half of 2026 has been stronger than expected in March. This is due both to real growth in the pharmaceutical industry being higher than assumed and to growth in the rest of the Danish economy also being stronger than expected … Secondly, revised GDP estimates provide a stronger basis for 2026 growth.”
Economic headwinds include increased inflation expectations and uncertainty as a result of the Middle East conflict and elevated oil prices, the bank added.
Victim of its own success
However, the fact that demand for Novo’s products—and production—abroad is so massive means that its domestic economy isn’t reaping all the benefits. As Nationalbank Governor, Christian Kettel Thomsen, highlighted: “The Danish economy has so far defied the global turmoil. We expect strong GDP growth this year, but with no signs of increased wage or price pressure. This is due to the fact that a large part of the growth comes from production abroad, which only draws on Danish labour and capital to a limited extent.”
Indeed, the report adds that in securing access to millions of American consumers via the U.S. government, the negotiation down of prices has eroded terms of trade in the coming years.
It highlights: “Real exports of goods increased at the same time as prices of the goods Danish companies export fell. Since the turn of the year, the decline largely stems from Novo’s agreement with the U.S. administration, which included a reduction of up to 30 % in the selling price of selected weight‑loss and diabetes products. By contrast, prices for the remainder of the goods exports have been more stable at the beginning of the year.”
