Mikael Dolsten Withdraws Candidacy for Novo Nordisk Board; Bavarian Nordic Chairman Resigns

Mikael Dolsten, former Pfizer head of R&D, has withdrawn his candidacy for a position on Novo Nordisk's board of directors due to personal reasons unrelated to the company or its controlling foundation1235.

Novo Nordisk was set for a major board shake-up at a special shareholder meeting, driven by the Novo Nordisk Foundation in response to losing market leadership in obesity drugs14.

The Foundation had proposed Dolsten as one of several new board members to bring 'new competencies, fresh eyes, and perspectives' to the board, but will not nominate a replacement for him at this time; a search for additional candidates will occur at next year's general meeting1.

Chairman Helge Lund and six other board members at Novo Nordisk resigned after failing to reach agreement with the Foundation over the future composition of the board4.

Shareholders are scheduled to vote on appointing Lars Rebien Sorensen as chair, Cees de Jong as vice chair, with Britt Meelby Jensen and Stephan Engels also up for election as board members14.

Bavarian Nordic's chairman also resigned, although the search results did not provide specific details about this event or its context.

Sources:

1. https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202511142092/novo-nordisk-says-mikael-dolsten-wont-seek-election-to-board-at-fridays-meeting

2. https://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2025:newsml_L4N3WP1ST:0-pfizer-s-ex-r-d-chief-dolsten-withdraws-from-novo-nordisk-board-race/

3. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/11/13/3187951/0/en/Novo-Nordisk-A-S-Candidate-for-the-Board-of-Directors-will-not-seek-election.html

4. https://www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/novo-nordisk-board-chair-and-members-quit-after-disagreement-on-board-membership/

5. https://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2025:newsml_TUA15ZYFG:0-novo-nordisk-says-mikael-dolsten-withdraws-candidacy-for-novo-nordisk-board/