Danish pharmaceuticals giant Novo Nordisk has announced a name change to just Novo, hoping it will be more "memorable and relevant" for clients.
The rebrand by the maker of weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy comes ahead of a strategic presentation on September 21, when executives are to lay out their plan to increase competitiveness.
Copenhagen-based Novo is battling fierce competition in the anti-obesity sector, where its hugely successful Ozempic and Wegovy treatments have spurred rivals to catch up.
It released a new tablet form of Wegovy in the United States in January, and in the UK it got the MHRA approval in July.
It will keep the full Novo Nordisk as its legal corporate name, using Novo and an updated version of its bull logo for its packaging.
Chief executive Mike Doustdar told a TV channel that the rebrand was part of an effort to "reinvent the company".
"People who use insulin are only considered as patients," he said.
"But over the past four or five years, we've seen the emergence of a bigger and bigger group that tells us, 'I'm not a patient, I'm not sick. I just want to lose weight'."
Doustdar urged employees to be more customer-focused, as the Wegovy maker seeks to regain ground in the fast-growing obesity drug market.
The investors are worried whether Doustdar can restore Novo's lead after it lost momentum to rival Eli Lilly in a market that analysts expect could exceed $100 billion a year by 2030.
