Domestic company worth more than GDP of an EU state

The popularity of weight-loss drugs among Americans has helped Danish company Novo Nordisk, which makes them, grow its market value to $413 billion, more than its home country’s GDP of about $406 billion.

And according to the Wall Street Journal, this phenomenon is taking its toll on Denmark’s economy. It manifests itself in the form of lower interest rates and a stronger currency, the report said.

The sales of these drugs in the US have driven Novo Nordisk’s market value to become the second most valuable company in Europe after luxury goods maker LVMH.

The weight-loss drug is expected to generate sales of about $6 billion, with FactSet analysts predicting that figure to grow to $15 billion a year in 2027.

According to the WSJ, the large influx of currency has caused the Danish krone to strengthen against the euro.

The Danish central bank is therefore forced to keep interest rates lower than those set by the European Central Bank to prevent the currency from strengthening too much.