Growth under Constraint: Managing Shortages at Novo Nordisk
Sandeep Puri
Asian Institute of Management, Philippines
Amrita Paramanik
IIM Shillong, India
Shivaraman Venkataramani
IIM Shillong, India
Rameshwar Dubey
MBS School of Business, Montpellier, France and Liverpool Business School, UK
Volume 20: 2026, pp. 00-00; ABSTRACT
This case examines the strategic and operational challenges faced by Novo Nordisk
amid unprecedented global demand for its GLP-1 drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. Despite strong
financial performance and leadership in diabetes and obesity care, the company struggled with
persistent supply shortages driven by manufacturing bottlenecks, particularly in the highly
regulated fill-and-finish stage, and vulnerabilities in cold-chain logistics. At the same time,
Novo Nordisk pursued aggressive expansion through major capital investments and
acquisitions, while exploring innovation in the form of an oral semaglutide pill requiring
significantly higher production capacity. The case situates these challenges within a rapidly
expanding market, with the global weight-loss drug industry projected to reach US$150 billion
by 2030, attracting intense competition from firms such as Eli Lilly and Company. It highlights
how operational constraints, demand forecasting gaps, and strategic trade-offs between scaling
supply and sustaining innovation created a critical inflection point for leadership. The case
ultimately explores whether Novo Nordisk can balance growth, capacity expansion, and
competitive positioning in a high-stakes, high-growth pharmaceutical landscape.
Keywords: supply chain bottlenecks, demand–supply mismatch, operations strategy,
competitive dynamics, strategic trade-offs, capacity expansion & vertical integration.
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