denmarks novo nordisk the worlds leading insulin company reported thursday a 39 percent increase in firstquarter profits buoyed by sales of obesity treatments from january to march net profit reached 198 billion kroner 29 billion while sales grew 27 percent to 534 billion kroner with both figures exceeding analyst expectations the danish drugmaker in particular saw sales of its obesity medications wegovy up 211 percent and ozempic up 59 percent soar in the quarter these treatments have gained popularity as they lead to greater weight loss than other drugs available until now ceo lars fruergaard jorgensen said in a statement that the prescription trend for the drugs particularly in the us highlights the high unmet need for people living with obesity adding that continued expansion of the supply capacity have enabled us to raise the outlook for the full year in midapril novo nordisk said it was now expecting a revenue increase of 24 to 30 percent for the full year compared with a forecast of 13 to 19 percent in february operating profit is expected to rise 28 to 34 percent compared with the 13 to 19 percent previously forecast ozempic originally developed as an injectable antidiabetic drug uses a molecule called semaglutide that mimics a hormone that can slow down the emptying of the stomach reducing appetite recently health experts have voiced concern after ozempic became a social media phenomenon as a miracle treatment for losing weight fast prompting warnings about misuse semaglutide is also used in wegovy which has been approved to treat obesity in several countries including in the us since june 2021