Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, who has headed the pharmaceutical company for eight years, will step down after a period to support a smooth transition to new leadership.

In an abrupt and surprising twist, the CEO of Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk has been ousted from his position as the head of the company. The Danish pharmaceutical giant announced Friday that, amidst a recent downturn in the company’s stock,

Novo Nordisk is parting ways with its CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen after the two parties mutually agreed that a change of leadership was required amid fierce glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) market pressure from Eli Lilly.