COPENHAGEN (REUTERS)

Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk will cut 9,000 jobs in a restructuring, aiming to save 8 billion Danish crowns ($1.26 billion) annually, the company said on Wednesday, as it battles rising pressure from main US rival Eli Lilly.

"Novo Nordisk today announced a company-wide transformation to simplify its organisation, improve the speed of decision-making, and reallocate resources towards the company's growth opportunities in diabetes and obesity," it said in a statement.

The company, which has gained prominence in recent years for its weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, already said in August that it had implemented a global hiring freeze covering job roles that were not critical for its business.

Novo, which currently has 78,400 positions globally, said around 5,000 of the jobs will be cut in its native Denmark.

"Our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as it has become more competitive and consumer-driven. Our company must evolve as well," newly appointed CEO Mike Doustdar said in the statement.

"This means instilling an increased performance-based culture, deploying our resources ever more effectively, and prioritising investment where it will have the most impact - behind our leading therapy areas," he added.

Novo, which became Europe's most valuable listed company worth $650 billion last year on booming sales of Wegovy, is facing a pivotal moment as the medicine loses market share and sees sales growth slow, especially in the United States.

It has warned of far slower growth this year - in part due to compounders who have been allowed to make copycat medicines based on the same ingredients as Wegovy due to shortages.

Investors in July wiped $70 billion off the drugmaker's market value, after Novo issued a profit warning and named company veteran Doustdar as its new CEO.