Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company behind the successful and controversial weight loss drug Wegovy, announced on Wednesday that its diversity goal of having “at least 45 percent of each gender” in management will no longer apply to its U.S. activities, Danish state television reports.
“If it’s illegal in the U.S. to measure, report, and reward people based on diversity, then of course we comply with those rules, but that doesn’t mean we abandon our belief in diversity,” Novo CEO Lars Fruergard Jørgensen said.
The CEO also confirmed that the company is dropping its goals related to racial diversity in the U.S. but “will continue to run a company that is inclusive.”
Wegovy is Novo’s proprietary brand of high-dose semaglutide, an injectable prescription medication originally developed for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. It was approved for weight management for chronically obese people in the U.S. in 2021.
