Novo Nordisk had, for all intents and purposes, a very good year in 2024. So why did CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen see a compensation increase only in line with inflation?
For Big Pharma CEOs, compensation can swing drastically year to year — from base salary to bonus incentives to stock options and more, the performance of the company and the overall industry plays a major role. But there are many other factors at play, as well.
For example, 2023 showcased major fluctuations in pay among U.S. leaders. David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, saw double-digit compensation growth that year, spurred by sales growth of its GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drugs. The company became the biggest pharma by market cap, and Ricks took home 24% more in overall pay in 2023. On the other end of the spectrum, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla took a 35% hit in compensation in 2023 after sales of its COVID-19 vaccine were in free fall.
American pharma companies have yet to reveal final CEO pay for 2024, but several European pharmas have made the information public, revealing just how closely tied pay incentives are to specific targets.
Outside the U.S., CEOs are compensated similarly, but tend to have lower overall takehome pay than their American counterparts. And a number of factors beyond company performance and trigger adjustments in CEO pay — even causing them to fall when sales up up. Here, we’re looking at those unique factors that impacted compensation for four CEOs last year.
Emma Walmsley, CEO, GSK
2024 compensation: $13.3 million
2023 compensation: $16.2 million
Decrease: 18%
GSK’s top executive saw her total compensation package fall 18% in 2024 from the year prior, according to the company’s annual report. It’s a stark difference from 2023, when Emma Walmsley saw the biggest pay increase from the prior year — 51% — across the industry.
The U.K.-based company reported a 33% fall in operating profit for the year, driven by a $2.3 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits regarding its cancer drug Zantac. The drugmaker’s vaccine sales also fell during the year, although total portfolio sales for the year were up 7%, and its stock price rose after the 2024 results were announced last month.
Amid the turbulence, Walmsley didn’t reap big returns in compensation. And GSK appears to be worried about “retention risk” due to her low pay when compared to industry peers. In the annual report, GSK noted that Walmsley’s pay was more in line “with ‘[No.] 2’ roles in our peer group,” and the gap between the CEO and CFO compensation was 40% less at GSK than the group average.
To fix the gap, GSK plans to move toward a higher pay package for its CEO that is more in line with biopharma peers. With a maximum 50% share price increase, Walmsley could earn up to $27.2 million in 2025.
GSK also started off 2025 with a bang by announcing its $1 billion acquisition of cancer drugmaker IDRx at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January. It was one of a handful of billion-dollar-plus deals revealed at the industry event, potentially signaling an M&A rebound for the year.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO, Novo Nordisk
2024 compensation: $8 million (57.1 million DKK)
2023 compensation: $9.5 million (68.2 million DKK)
Decrease: 16%
Swiss-based Novo Nordisk announced positive year-end results last month, with operating profit rising 25% and North American sales jumping 30% in 2024. Sales within the obesity and diabetes business, which includes its ultra-popular GLP-1 medications Ozempic and Wegovy, also increased 26%.
Despite the successes, Novo’s CEO still saw compensation fall compared to the prior year.The company’s structure ensured that Lars Jørgensen’s base salary only increased by 3.5% compared to 2023, in line with all employees in the company and considered as a general salary inflation increase.
The lower overall pay stems from even higher growth in 2023, when global sales and operating profit were up 36% and 44%, respectively. Therefore, Jørgensen didn’t receive as high a payout for both short- and long-term incentives, Novo said in its report. Novo also took a stock price hit toward the end of 2024 after disappointing clinic results for its R&D hopeful CagriSema, a next-generation obesity med.
Plus, the company failed to deliver on its DEI promises, which may have factored into Jørgensen’s decline in compensation, according to Fortune. Within its short-term incentive program, Novo didn’t reach its goals for increasing diversity and inclusion. While the company noted progress, it was less than desired, but all 12 other STIP targets were achieved, according to the report.
The failure comes as the U.S. is embattled in a culture war over DEI in public institutions and companies. The Trump administration’s crusade to end DEI efforts at government agencies has crossed over to some large U.S. companies, although many pharmas, such as Sanofi, are still investing in their diversity goals.
Novo is aiming to achieve gender parity in senior leadership positions, with a minimum of 45% women and 45% men in senior leadership positions by the end of 2025. The share of women in leadership roles reached 42% in 2024, Fortune reported.
Vas Narasimhan, CEO, Novartis
2024 compensation: $21.2 million (19.2 million Swiss francs)
2023 compensation: $18 million (16.2 million Swiss francs)
Increase: 15%
With net income up 45% in 2024, Novartis achieved strong financial results for its “first full year as a pure-play innovative medicines company,” CEO Vas Narasimhan said in the company’s year-end earnings announcement. The Swiss pharma saw better-than-expected sales for several drugs at the end of the year, including the heart failure med Entresto, which will lose exclusivity this year, as well as cancer drugs Kesimpta and Kisqali, according to Reuters.
The exec’s pay included $8.3 million in long-term incentives, while Narasimham’s base salary rose about 13%. The long-term incentives won’t actually pay out until 2026, however, as Novartis uses a three-year cycle for this variable.
2024 marked a turning point for Novartis as it focused on its four core therapeutic areas — cardiovascular-renal-metabolic, immunology, neuroscience and oncology. The company snagged FDA approvals for a new kidney disease medication, expanded approval for Kisqali and accelerated approval for its leukemia drug Scemblix. Looking ahead, Narasimham anticipates 15 “submission-enabling readouts” over the next few years and upwards of 30 potential new assets,” he said in the earnings announcement.
Thomas Schinecker, CEO, Roche
2024 compensation: $11.1 million (10 million Swiss francs)
2023 compensation: $10.6 million (9.6 million Swiss francs)
Increase: 4.5%
Swiss pharma Roche announced that pharma sales rose 8% in 2024 excluding COVID-19 products. Among the highlights for the year, Roche earned EU approval for its eye injection therapy Vabysmo, which saw a surge in sales at the start of the year despite market competition. In the U.S., Roche also received FDA nods for new cancer and multiple sclerosis drugs. Plus Roche made or announced a handful of acquisitions during the year, including its takeover of cell and gene therapy company Poseida Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $1.5 billion.
Schinecker’s base salary increased nearly $250,000 from 2023, to just under $3.6 million, while his bonuses increased from roughly $3.6 million in 2023 (in the form of shares) to nearly $3.8 million in 2024. Other stock awards, payments and benefits rounded out his total pay package for the year.
The company’s pipeline includes several late-stage cancer targets, as well immunology and neurology assets, and Schinecker anticipates the pharma will have new readouts in 2025 with potential drug launches in 2026. Roche expects 12 key readouts throughout the year, he said during the company’s earnings call.
