If you’re going to do only one thing, you’d better do it well. A company that could have learned that lesson earlier is Novo Nordisk, the drug maker that turned an obscure hormone into a weight-loss blockbuster. Its shares have more than halved since last summer, and last week it ousted its chief executive. His successor will inherit a company with vastly slimmed-down prospects.

It’s worth analysing what went wrong for the inventor of the drug marketed as Ozempic for diabetes, and Wegovy for weight loss. Last year, the Danish company was valued like a thoroughbred at almost 40 times forward earnings. At those levels, flawless execution is a must.