Last year Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, overtook LVMH to become Europe’s most valuable company. And the pull for Acquired to finally tackle healthcare (18% of US GDP!) became too strong for us to resist. While we didn’t know much about Novo Nordisk before diving in, our first thought was, “wow, seems like these new diabetes and obesity drugs mean serious trouble for big insulin companies.”

And then… we realized that Novo Nordisk IS the big insulin company. And in a story befitting of Steve Jobs and Apple, they’d just disrupted themselves with the drug equivalent of an iPhone moment. Once we dug further, we quickly realized this company has it all: an incredible 100+ year history filled with Nobel Prizes, bitter personal rivalries, board room dramas, a generation-defining silicon valley innovation, lone voices persevering against all odds — and oh yeah, the world’s largest charitable foundation at its helm. Tune in for one incredible story!

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Links:

Chart: US Healthcare Spend by Category
https://www.drugchannels.net/2022/02/...

Chart: US Distribution and Reimbursement System (for pharmaceutical drugs)
https://www.drugchannels.net/2019/03/...

Chart: Insulin Supply Chain
https://diabetesjournals.org/view-lar...

YouTube Talk: What People Get Wrong about the Finances of the Drug Industry
   • Dr. Jack Scannell. What People Get Wr...  

Alex Telford: The pharma industry from Paul Janssen to today: why drugs got harder to develop and what we can do about it
https://atelfo.github.io/2023/12/23/b...

Out-of-Pocket Health: Obesity Drugs
https://www.outofpocket.health/p/lets...

Out-of-Pocket Health: US Healthcare System Problems
https://www.outofpocket.health/p/all-...

All episode sources
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p...

Carve Outs:

Noxgear Tracer 2 running vest
https://www.noxgear.com/tracer2

Drops of God
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15282746/

Wool by Hugh Howey
https://www.amazon.com/Wool-Hugh-Howe...

Mere Mortals at San Francisco Ballet
https://www.sfballet.org/productions/...

Blackberry
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21867434/

Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.