Lifted by sales of diabetes and obesity treatments, Denmark's Novo Nordisk, the world's leading insulin company, on Wednesday reported a 16 per cent rise in net profit for 2022.

The group's net profit rose to 55.53 billion Danish kroner (€7.5 billion), compared to analysts’ expectations of 55.13 billion, according to a survey by Factset. 

Revenue was 176.95 billion kroner, where analysts had expected 176 billion.

"More than 36 million people living with diabetes are now benefiting from our treatments," CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said in the company's earnings report.

More than 36 million people living with diabetes are now benefiting from our treatments- CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen

The pharmaceutical company has seen growing success with its GLP-1 analogues, a medicine which increases the amount of an intestinal hormone that secretes insulin.

It now claims a 54.9 per cent share of the global market – up almost two percentage points since the year before.

Type 2 diabetes treatments like Rybelus and Ozempic are among the company's best sellers, with Rybelus seeing a 114 per cent increase in sales and Ozempic a 61 per cent increase in 2022. 

According to the latest estimates from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), about 537 million adults worldwide had diabetes in 2021, almost half of whom were undiagnosed.

The organisation estimates that this figure could rise to 783 million adults by 2045, mainly in low- and middle-income countries.

In the overall diabetes treatment sector, Novo Nordisk has market share of 31.9 per cent compared to 30.1 per cent a year earlier.