Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who led the Danish drugmaker to new heights through its development of powerful medicines for diabetes and obesity, will step down from his position, the company said Friday. 

While the runaway success of Novo’s GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy made it for a time the second most valuable pharmaceutical company in the world, its stock has slumped amid supply chain bottlenecks, clinical trial setbacks and encroaching competition from rival Eli Lilly. Shares are worth less than half what they were one year ago. 

In a statement on the change, Novo noted how Jørgensen helped nearly triple the company’s sales and profits during his eight years as CEO. But, it added, the recent stock price decline and rising market challenges spurred board discussions about an “accelerated” leadership succession.

Jørgensen, who steadily rose through Novo’s ranks since joining the company in 1991, will remain CEO for an unspecified time to ensure a successful transition. Novo said it has begun searching for a replacement and that it would make an announcement “in due course.” 

Lars Rebien Sørensen, who chairs the board of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and was Jørgensen’s predecessor at Novo, will join the company’s board. (The Novo Nordisk Foundation owns a controlling stake in Novo Nordisk through a holding company.) 

“Novo Nordisk’s strategy remains unchanged, and the board is confident in the company’s current business plans and its ability to execute on the plans,” Novo board chair Helge Lund said in a statement. “I would like to thank Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen for his outstanding contributions to Novo Nordisk’s success during his tenure as CEO.”

Shares in Novo fell by 3% in Friday morning trading on news of the transition.