The runaway success of weight loss drugs took the markets by storm last year, spurring huge stock gains for drugmakers like Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy and Ozempic. Most patients take them at home in weekly injections, using plastic, pen-like devices known as autoinjectors, filled with the liquid medication and fitted with a tiny needle as wide as two human hairs.

As demand for the drugs soars, so does the need for those devices. That growth has now minted a new billionaire: Roger Samuelsson, the 60-year-old Swedish cofounder of Switzerland-based SHL Medical, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of autoinjectors. Forbes estimates he’s worth $3 billion, largely thanks to his 69% stake in the company he cofounded in 1989. The remaining 31% is held by Swedish private equity firm EQT—which has minted seven billionaires over the years—and Athos, the family office of the billionaire Struengmann brothers. Press-shy Samuelsson, who declined multiple requests for an interview, also enjoys fast cars (he raced in the 2016 Ferrari Challenge series) and owns the 414-foot megayacht Octopus, which he bought in 2021; the yacht was built for its first owner, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen (d. 2018).

0:00 Introduction
0:20 Who Is Roger Samuelsson?
3:32 The Growing Market For Injectors
5:50 Who Is The Competition In The Space
8:50 What's Next For SHL Medical
10:45 What's Next For Roger Samuelsson

Read the full story on Forbes: www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2024/04/12/mee…

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