Novo took the active ingredient of Ozempic, semaglutide, and rebranded it as Wegovy to be used specifically for weight loss. Together, these blockbuster drugs made Novo the most valuable publicly listed company in Europe. At one point, its market capitalization was even bigger than the size of Denmark’s economy.

Novo Nordisk’s shares plunged more than a fifth on Tuesday, wiping more than €60bn from its value, after it slashed sales and profit forecasts for the year amid competition from US copycat weight-loss drugs.