H. Lundbeck A/S (HLUNB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome. On behalf of the Board of Directors, it's a great pleasure for me to welcome you to Lundbeck's AGM. It's wonderful to see so many of you here in the room. Let me start by mentioning that we are offering our shareholders to follow the AGM via webcast in Danish and English. And we offer simultaneous interpretation into English so that shareholders all over the world can follow. And there's also a simultaneous interpretation into Danish when our CEO, Charl van Zyl speaks. Before we continue it with the agenda, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the 12 years, that I had the pleasure of being on the Board of Lundbeck. As I said previously in the press release, I've chosen not to run again. I think it's the right time to pass on the baton. Lundbeck has, in recent years, undergone a very strong development. The Board and management have set new strategic goals and we've obtained strong financial results, and we've strengthened our pipeline considerably. I'm very comfortable about the management and leadership that will take Lundbeck further into the future. As also described in the press release, the Board has said that expects to elect Dorothea Wenzel, as new Chairman of the Board. Dorothea, she is right here, sitting here on the first row, I'm convinced that Dorothea will be an excellent Chairman of Lundbeck. Dorothea has been part of Lundbeck's Board as Chairman of the Audit Committee since 2021, and in her long career in the pharmaceutical industry, she has shown to be an inspirational leader and a strategic thinker. As her Board colleague for many years, I can tell you that her heart beats for Lundbeck and Lundbeck's patients. That is for sure. Okay. Let me introduce the Board for '24 of Lundbeck. Those elected by the AGM, apart from myself are Lene Skole-Sørensen, who's the Vice Chair; Santiago Arroyo, Jeffrey Berkowitz, Dorothea Wenzel, Jakob Riis, and Lars Erik Holmqvist. We also have 4 employee-elected members until '26. They are Dorte Clausen, Lasse Skibsbye, Camilla Gram Andersson, and Hossein Armandi. Looking back at the work we've done on the Board in '24, it gives me a great pleasure a lot pleasure really as a CEO, Charl van Zyl and I myself will address '24 was a transformative year for Lundbeck. In connection with the launch of the company's new strategy, and the crucial strategic decisions are made in the course of the year, the Board has had an open constructive dialogue with corporate management, both in relation to the strategic business development, the commercial approach and other topics for more practical elements to the geopolitical development. So let me also briefly introduce the top management of the company. Charl van Zyl, he took over as CEO in September '23, and he has composed a new management team. So today, Lundbeck has a corporate management with great international experience. The management that since August '24, has been there consists of Charl van Zyl. He is the CEO. We have then Maria Alfaiate. She is the VP responsible for corporate strategy, including the commercial strategy. Lars Bang, he's the VP in charge of production and supplies. Michala Fischer-Hansen, she is the VP responsible for the commercial business in Europe and International Markets. Thomas Gibbs, he is VP responsible for our business in the U.S. Dianne Hol, is the VP in charge of HR and Culture. Joerg Hornstein, he is VP responsible for Finance and Corporate Functions. Johan Luthman, he's the VP in charge of Research and Development. This group of management composes a strong team, with broad experience from at home and abroad. Under Charl van Zyl's leadership, the team has really grown well. Today, it is well functioning and has a very high level of ambition. On behalf of the Board, I'd like to thank the executive management, all Lundbeck's employees for their sterling effort, their great commitment that has created really wonderful results in '24. Again, this year, Lundbeck delivered record revenue. The company has also shown growth on the operating result also known as EBITDA. At the same time, we've been able to increase our investments in research and development into new drugs. As a board, we are very pleased with that. According to the company's articles, the Board appoints the Chairman of the AGM, again this year, we have selected lawyer Jørgen Kjergaard Madsen from Kromann Reumert. Welcome to you. Jorgen, would you please take over for the AGM.

Thank you very much. Thank you for appointing me Chair of this AGM. I hope we will have a good and orderly AGM today. Before I take you through the formalities, I have a few practical remarks. As the Chairman of the Board mentioned, the AGM is being live streamed today and you can listen to interpretation from Danish into English and from English into Danish. There are headsets for everyone. Does anyone here in the room want a headset? It seems everyone are all set with headsets for interpretation. The shareholders who want to speak during the AGM are asked to approach the rostrum and speak from here so that everyone can see and hear you. If you leave the AGM before it is over, please deregister at the registered desk with Computershare outside. The press has access to the AGM and you're allowed to make sound recordings, but no video footage or imagery from the AGM. And now let's get to it. My first task is to conclude whether the AGM has been lawfully convened and is quorate. First of all, we need to hold the AGM in the capital region, which still exists this year. But as we will get to later today, there will be changes in this respect, but we are in the capital region, and we are before the end of April. That is also fulfilled. The notice should be between 3 and 5 weeks, and the notice was sent out on the 25th of February, and that was published on the company website and also on NASDAQ Copenhagen and the notice has been sent out to the shareholders who has wished to receive it by post. So that is all in order and the convening notice and all of the required documents have been available on the company website since the 25th of February 2025, and that is also in line with the requirements. The agenda for today has been sent out, and it is in accordance with the Articles of Association. And on the agenda today, we do not have any items that require a particular share of the shareholders or the capital present, apart from 1 technical item. Today, none of the agenda items cannot be decided with a simple majority. And on that basis, it is my view that the AGM has been lawfully convened and is quorate to transact the business on the agenda. Are there any objections? If that is not the case, then I will record that in the minutes. I can also inform you that at the AGM today, we have 85% of the company's share capital and votes represented. That leads me to the agenda for today. As usual, we have Item 1 and 2, the report of the Board of Directors on the company's activities during the past year and the presentation and adoption of the audited annual report for 2024. And as per usual, we will take these 2 items as one. Item 3 is the resolution on the appropriation of profit or loss as recorded in the annual report. Item 4 is the presentation and advisory vote on the remuneration report. After these 4 items on the agenda, we have Item 5, election of members to the Board of Directors. Item 6 is the approval of remuneration for the Board of Directors for the current financial year. Item 7 is the election of auditors. Item 8 is proposals by the shareholders or the Board of Directors. This year, we do not have any shareholder proposals. We have a few proposals from the Board of Directors, and I will get back to these under that relevant item. And as usual, we have any other business as Item 9. I can also inform you that with the proxies and postal votes that we have received, we already have a clear majority for all of the proposals for the AGM today, and that means we will not need any formal voting in order to conclude that these proposals have been adopted. But for practical reasons, I will conclude for each item on the agenda that the votes represented in the room are in favor per default, unless I hear otherwise. And then I would like to ask the shareholders who wish to vote against or abstain from voting under 1 or more items to register this at the registration desk with Computershare after the AGM. That way, we can have a full account of the voting results and also avoid any interruptions or delays in today's AGM. Now I will give the floor to the Chairman of the Board, Lars Rasmussen, to give his report on the company's activities and to present the audited annual report for 2024 and be complemented by the CEO, Charl van Zyl.

I've really been looking forward to giving the report from the Board here and to review the annual report for '24. Lundbeck is one of the only pharmaceutical companies in the world dealing only with neuroscience for brain disease. In my opinion, that gives a very special spirit here. We feel close and long connection with our patients because we've always dealt with the same problems in neurology and psychiatry. And this is what we think when we say that the patient is at the center for everything we do. Accordance with the recent research, about 3.4 billion people on the world are affected by brain diseases. That's not enough, brain diseases are today the most frequent reason why people all over the world are unable to live for a normal life without pain or any other suffering. Our prime task at Lundbeck is to address that problem. We do it every day by researching into how we can promote brain health and develop new medication, helping patients. We do not have adequate treatment options where the existing treatment is not adequate. We help getting the medication out to patients all over the world to make them live the life that they want today. Lundbeck's medication is available through health systems in more than 80 countries. Over 7 million patients all over the world are helped to a better life, but through our work. This is in line with our overall purpose to promote brain health, thereby creating long-term value for patients, their families and society as well. It's not just Lundbeck, who thinks that it's important to research into brain disease. There is a strong increase in the market for neuroscience. We expect to see continued growth in the coming years in the U.S. and in Europe. Neuroscience is in top 3 among the new pharmaceutical products that are approved. This bodes well for the future for Lundbeck and at least for our patients. In early '24, we launched our Focused Innovator Strategy. It is based on the company's strong position in neurological and psychiatric diseases. The strategy has 3 main elements: the first element, is that we need to continue getting the maximum out of our existing products. There's still a lot of growth potential in the coming years. This is very much a matter of being in the right markets, reaching our patients as efficiently as possible. The second element of our strategy is to invest into research to ensure that our pipeline always has interesting new candidates for drugs, both in early and later stages of development. We are well underway here. We expect to have 4 Phase III projects in '26. So I don't think we've done that before. The third and last element has to do with being good at investing focused in the things that can ensure the company's growth in the short, medium term, and long term. As you probably remember, in December '24, we made the biggest acquisition in the company's history. We acquired Longboard Pharmaceuticals, including the promising molecule bexicaserin. Bexicaserin is targeted at rare types of epilepsy. We expect it to drive significant growth far into the 30s. With this molecule and other of the products that we're working on, we are moving into rare specialist-treated neurological ailments, where patients typically have limited or no access to treatment today. We can also see the first promising results of our new Focused Innovator Strategy. And as a company, we are carrying out an extensive transformation to support our increasing focus on rare neurological diseases at the same time as we invest in growing existing products on the market. At the entry of '25, we have a strong foundation in the form of our strategic products. We saw double-digit and growing growth rates in '24, that contributed to a record high revenue. We expect the strategic products from our core business in psychiatry to continue that growth until '27. As mentioned, we are well underway when it comes to strengthening our foundation further by focusing on rare neurological elements. We established a strong pipeline of new promising medication. At the end of '24, we had 2 potential drugs in Phase III. In addition to the mentioned bexicaserin is amlenetug against multiple system atrophy, also known as MSA. And then, we've come so far that we are beginning to recruit patients for clinical trials. Amlenetug in February of this year was given a so called -- it's called Fast Track Designation by the U.S. authorities. And so there's been -- it's been selected as a very promising drug by authorities in Europe and Japan. With bexicaserin and amlenetug and the other promising candidates in our pipeline, we firmly believe that we will be able to launch at least new products with good profitability by the end of this decade. This will be supported by the greatest capital distribution program in the company's history. That enables us to focus our investments that we have in our pipeline. '24, again, was an eventful year. The acquisition of Longboard Pharmaceuticals was very important and positive study results in Phase II and the commencement of the Phase III trial for amlenetug. We have continued the launch of Vyepti and Abilify Asimtufii in new countries, primarily in Europe. It's positive development for the company. It's also seen in the share market. Lundbeck shares has gone up by 21% from the beginning of the last financial year till February this year. As mentioned, in '24, Lundbeck delivered strong operational performance. We increased our expectations for the year. Revenue was DKK 22 billion, that was 14% up in current exchange rate or 11% in Danish kroner. All commercial regions contributed to the strong growth in our strategic products. They increased by 21% in constant exchange rates up 20% in Danish kroner, reaching a level of DKK 16.5 billion, that was 75% of the total revenue. The adjusted operating result before interest tax, depreciation and impairment, this is the adjusted EBITDA increased to more than DKK 6.3 billion. This reflects the strong growth in revenue across all the strategic products. The adjusted EBITDA grew by 20% and reached an EBITDA margin of 28.8%. We are very pleased to be able to -- with this year's net result, it went up by 37% to DKK 3.1 billion. The adjusted net result increased by 15% to DKK 5.3 billion. This is really a strong improvement over '24, where our growth was 20% and 13%, respectively. On the background of the strong development in the company, the Board is proposing an increase of 36% in dividend payout compared with the year before. So for the financial year '24, we are proposing to pay a dividend of 30% of the year's net profit, corresponding to DKK 0.95 per share, a total dividend of DKK 946 million. The dividend per share, thus grows from DKK 0.7 in '23 to DKK 0.95 in '24. For '25, we continue -- we expect continued strong growth in revenue and earnings. We expect Lundbeck to increase revenue by 7% to 10% in constant exchange rates. This growth reflects the strong contribution from Vyeptin result in the U.S. and Brintellix in Europe. Lundbeck expects the growth in adjusted EBITDA will be between 5% and 11% in constant exchange rate compared with the previous year. This is driven by revenue growth, but it is counter effect by higher costs in research and development. The considerable increase in research and development costs are driven by Phase III investment in bexicaserin and the continued ripening of Lundbeck's pipeline. This increase is partly financed via the Lundbeck's disciplined capital redistribution. Generally, Lundbeck continues having focus on profitable growth in the future. As always, Lundbeck has a solid focus on running our business in a decent, sustainable way. In '24, it's been an important focus area to prepare the company for reporting in accordance with the new CSR directory from the European Union. We have used the new EU rules in our financial statements for '24, so we are delivering an open, consistent reporting on the many aspects of sustainability. Let me give you a couple of examples from the year worth mentioning. We maintain a strong focus on business ethics throughout the company. At the end of '24, 100% of employees had completed the annual training and business ethics. Our climate effort resulted in a reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 38% in 2019 compared with 34% at the end of '23. Our CO2 footprint from purchasing known as Scope 3, however, is today 18% higher than in '19, and this is because Lundbeck's business has been growing. We maintain our climate goal towards the end of the decade in '24. We started the construction of a new solvent recovery unit, which will increase our reuse and of chemistry, thereby also reducing CO2 emissions. So in '25, we focus on reducing emissions from travel activity. In '24, we were able to reuse 62% of the chemistry used in production by cleaning and reusing substances. This is all already progress from '23. And as mentioned, the new solvent recovery unit will increase this percentage further. The overall gender distribution in top management levels is more or less at the same level in '24 as it was in '23. It is worth mentioning that in the new corporate management, we have a composition where the underrepresented gender is now 3 out of 8 members of corporate management. If you look at the physical working environment, we saw in '24, a minor increase in the frequency of work-related accidents. As a response, we have established projects concerning safety culture to make us better at avoiding accidents in the short term and to identify the right measures also in the long run. Finally, Lundbeck's strongest contribution sustainability is probably the fact that we allow patients access to medication. As mentioned in '24, we reached 7.2 million patients on a daily basis at the same time as we launched a new strategy for how to ensure patient focus in our work. And actually, Lundbeck donated medication to more than 5,000 patients in low and middle-income countries, neurological, psychiatric ailments, not only have a great influence on the patient's life, but also on their families, their workplaces and the surrounding society. So we are happy to be able to make a positive difference to them all. So let me summarize. Lundbeck's business is strong, continues to grow. In addition to the good sales strategic products, we have successfully transformed our pipeline. We now have a number of very promising drugs underway to file approval. This includes bexicaserin, which was acquired in December. We have the capital to invest further in strengthening our pipeline and our business. Let me now give the floor to Lundbeck's CEO, Charl van Zyl, who will give a more detailed review of the company's strategy and results in '24.

So good morning, everyone. It's wonderful to see you here in the auditorium and for also those who have joined us online, it's great to have everyone here, and I will build on a few comments on what Lars has said. Certainly, it is 12 months ago when I was with you here in my first AGM. And it's truly been a transformative last 12 months for Lundbeck. And behind every transformation, there is also a great management team, and that management team is sitting here today in the front. And of course, together as a team, we are very much focused on building the long-term success of Lundbeck. And with this management team, we feel very privileged to be able to lead such an iconic company as Lundbeck. So I have often spoken about the importance of our principles of being a company that is people-focused, patient-focused, but also important understanding what societal impact we make. And here is just a small example, sort of a window into what we do to ensure that our employees are working in the best environment, are able to reach their full potential, and really contribute to the long-term success of the company. And this is just a small measure of great places to work in where we see certainly, the environment that we want to stimulate for a company that is innovative and a company that can allow its employees to thrive and build on the long-term success of the company. So taking care of our people, we'll take care of the patients and will, of course, impact society in a positive way. So I'm really proud to see how we've evolved also as a company with our people strategy and where we are going for the long term. Now we have introduced what we call a Focused Innovativor Strategy and our Chairman has referred to that is really the foundation of our transformation. And there are 3 important elements to the Focused Innovator Strategy: one is, can we grow more with what we have; the second is, how do we build a compelling innovative pipeline for the long term; and the third one is, how do we allocate our capital sufficiently and in the best way to either fund more growth or more innovation. And what you can clearly see here is the foundation of a company that is being able to perform in 2024, but also setting a good foundation for how we want to transform in the long term. And what you see here is clearly the growth, as a first comment I want to make. Our strategic brands, which are really 4 of them, Vyepti, Rexulti, Brintellix, and the Abilify franchise are all growing at double-digit growth rates. And that's why you see 21% growth there, which makes up 75% of the company's portfolio today. We've, of course, also seen really successful launches of some of the indications like in the U.S. Our agitation in Alzheimer's disease has been an important additional growth driver for Rexulti and of course, expanding such an important product across the U.S. market is a key for us for long-term growth as well. Vyepti continues to grow across the U.S., but also all the markets that we have launched in. We are growing year-over-year 72% in Vyepti, which is phenomenal for such an important product and, of course, bringing significant addressing significant unmet need for patients also in severe preventative migraine. What I would say is, for me, really pleasing and what brings me a lot of confidence around the future of where we're going is the pipeline and looking at what we've achieved in terms of innovation. We are really seeing and advance in the pipeline, which I will talk to you in a short while in more detail. But certainly, Vyepti in its ability to expand beyond where we are today, but also the ability to be able to launch in some of the Asian markets with the SUNRISE results in Phase III. We have anti-PACAP advancing of course, which is a novel mechanism that can address a huge unmet need still remaining in severe migraine. So that area of specialty remains an important area where we will continue to see growth in the future. But we're also building a compelling neuro rare franchise, which is often where the science is taking us into very specific populations where we fully understand the biology and the subpopulation. And here, you see a number of examples here, of course, bexicaserin was an acquisition, but amlenetug going into Phase III in multiple system atrophy and more to come, of course, with anti-ACTH in 2 indications that is currently in Phase Ib. But more importantly, also for a company of our size. It's also important that we think about how do we sustain this for the long-term growth of the company. And that's meaning that we carefully look at the capital that's available to us. Our resources, how do we allocate them sufficiently to fund more growth where we can or of course, where we can also fund more innovation, an exciting pipeline that is emerging for the company. And that is very much the discipline we take to ensure that we can grow while also building a strong long-term success with the pipeline that we have. And that requires, of course, choices we make and being very careful also from a shareholder perspective, how are we making sure that we put the capital that we have available to the best use for the long-term success of the company. So let me talk a little bit about the pipeline because this is really, I would say, the future of where we want to continue to see the company evolve. And you see here that I think the key important message for you is that, we have the potential today by 2026 to have 4 programs in Phase III. So when you look on the right-hand side of this slide, it's really -- this is the future growth engine of the company. This is the engine that can grow us into the next decade. And of course, we know that there's more to do, but this is already clear tangible elements that we believe can help sustain the long-term success and the long-term growth of Lundbeck into the next decade. So clearly, a significant advance that we've made and this is what we see as a foundation of our transformation going forward for long-term success and is at the heart of what the Focused Innovator Strategy is all about. It's R&D led. It's about bringing innovation forward that is better than the standard of care and building that success through really innovation that is meaningful to patients. Now we have also made 1 of the biggest acquisitions in the history of Lundbeck. And so I will just make a few comments on bexicaserin and, of course, Longboard, which is a company we acquired in the fourth quarter of 2024. We've done a full integration and a seamless transition with bexicaserin now entering very rapidly into Phase III with the opportunity to be able to launch in the end of the decade and fuel the growth into the future. And of course, this is a molecule that we have studied very carefully. We see the highly selectivity of it and its ability to be best-in-class in treating childhood onset epilepsies, often associated, of course, also with developmental issues. So this is a huge unmet need area and an opportunity for Lundbeck to really make a difference to lives of patients. And what we see here with the potential we see today with a label and the patient population that we can address, we see a potential of EUR 1.5 billion to EUR 2 billion peak sales in euros for such an important asset that will drive additional growth for the company in the next decade. The pipeline is 1 that is very rich and a number of news flow items, so I will not intend to go through all of this today with you, but to just state a few points. Certainly, of course, bexicaserin is now very much in Phase III, but we also have very strong support of data from our open label study, the PACIFIC study that read out and gave us further confidence that we have an asset here that is has a sustained effect and significant seizure reduction potential. We are also currently working with the FDA on Rexulti in PTSD. So this is an ongoing discussion with the FDA around an additional indication in posttraumatic stress disorder. And then a few other highlights I would just mention again, anti-PACAP is currently in its Phase IIb study, but it's an opportunity where we will see the type of route of administration is it subcutaneous or intravenous. And this is some interim readout that we will see that allows us to understand what the long-term potential of such a first-in-class molecule will be. And of course, finally, I would just mention again that the SUNRISE results, the Phase III results were compelling, that reconfirmed really Vyepti's strong efficacy potential. And this gives us the foundation now to submit in China and rest of the world in Asia specifically, and allows us to, therefore, launch and also reach the full potential of Vyepti in new markets for the long-term success. So really a pipeline that is emerging with a lot of news flow, a number of endpoints that we will see this year as well emerging from the pipeline. So as a company, we have a very clear journey ahead of us, very clear, very disciplined, a company that is very focused on how we will achieve that long-term success. We are very much today in the stage of focusing, focusing on growth, focusing on building a compelling pipeline and focusing very much on ensuring that the capital we have available is allocated to fund that long-term success of the company. And as we progress over the next years, this is a journey we are undertaking course as a company to be 1 that is seen as the best neuroscience company, 1 in the top 25% of the top quartile in terms of neuroscience, recognized for its innovation and focus in being a company that's innovative in the space of neuroscience. And so we have that journey ahead of us. We see ourselves also scaling further into areas where we can gain critical mass. That being near specialty, so with severe preventative migraine with Vyepti and anti-PACAP but also, of course, the compelling elements of the pipeline and will give us some very important critical mass in the space of neuro rare diseases, where we know there's a huge unmet need, and we can offer very compelling solutions for patients there as well. So it is an opportunity for us to see a journey ahead. But I would say, to give you some concluding remarks, again, I think the company is on a different path today, a company that 12 months ago was in 1 path, but we have certainly transformed, see an opportunity to continue to perform and transform going forward but it's a company that is really able to set a very clear path for the long-term success and long-term growth of Lundbeck into the next decade. So it is again my privilege to be able to lead such a company and, of course, such a management team that can help us build this journey together for the long-term success of the company. So thank you for that. And with that, I hand back to you, Jorgen. Thank you.

Thank you. That was Items 1 and 2 of the agenda. The report from the Board presentation of the annual report on '24. And in connection with the latter, I can mention that the annual report had an unqualified opinion by the auditors. You can see it on pages 218 and the following pages in the annual report. Does anyone have questions concerning these items on the agenda? Does anyone wish to speak? There is a person down there. Yes, please.

I am [ Hana Lund Martin ]. Report and for the Chairman also. I was wondering you having now delivered your first CSRD report. So I was wondering what has been the added value to the company in making your sustainability reporting according to the CSRD framework as compared to previous years. My second question would be, I understand that you want to move into rare and very complicated neurological illnesses. I was wondering, have you any plans in looking into the neuro sensor illness of restless legs syndrome, which is -- has a very, very big patient group and which is a very much rejected illness. So with very, very big, if you could say, socioeconomic consequences in terms of very, very high levels of work illnesses. Thank you.

Thank you, they are rather 2 concrete questions, I think. I give the floor first to Lars Rasmussen.

Thank you [indiscernible] for the questions. I'm going to try and give a reply to the CSRD question, and Charl will then address the question of any future indications that the company may be able to address. CSRD, well, this is a new framework, a new template, if you like, for how to report on the impact that the company has on society, on the environment in terms of governance and a number of other elements. The biggest companies in the country have had to do this reporting this year and I think smaller companies will have a postponement of this requirement. But the EU is putting a framework, providing a framework to how you are to be a big company in a society. That could be sort of sensible you could say, but it's very extensive. It's been a huge job for the company to create the reporting that we now have. It's just under 100 pages to our annual report. So this is really a lot. And it is a professionalization of the way that we report on nonfinancial parameters in the company. You can learn a lot from that. It is very extensive. If you follow the discussion from the European Union, they've taken a second dock, I think, and thought maybe this is too extensive. And I think we can sign that. It is so extensive that not all of it creates added value, and it can be difficult to see how we can become a better company and society by having this kind of reporting. I can mention an area where our competencies have become significantly better, where it's rather relevant. It's in the field of biodiversity, how does the company influenced biodiversity in society. We've had to learn a lot more about. Practically all companies have had to learn a lot about that. It is a professionalization that is we welcomed, I think. We are all citizens in this society. So we do have an interest in ensuring that things can be done in the proper way, the way you run your business, the way you are in society. This should be done in a way that is sustainable for the future. So if I'm to indicate a specific area, where we've had a strong learning curve that will be that. Over to you, Charl.

Thank you for your question. And of course, today, there are 350 million people with rare diseases, of which -- in the world, of which almost 50% of them are neurological conditions. So we -- and as a company in the space can maybe sort of address the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot more work to do, but it's important that we, of course, look at all areas where there's opportunities. So RLS is probably an area which is slightly larger than rare diseases, but we have an asset in our pipeline, [indiscernible] that may have the potential there. So we will consider your requests and your comments and continue to see the scientific basis for that. But thank you. Thank you for your comment.

Thank you. Any further comments? Yes.

Yes. I am Kjeld Beyer. I'd like to congratulate the company with a good result. And congratulations to the new Chairman, a small piece of advice on my part. I mean when you look at Chairman, the question seems to be how fast they can read out the report. So there are lots of technical terms in these reports. You cannot expect normal people to know all of these things not when the report is delivered at shotgun speed. Your other colleague spoke nicely, I think, more slowly. But anyway, anyway. It's a rotten shame that you have to say something like that, to ask the Chair of the Board to take a basic course in communication. The Chairman of DSV was told that the other day. I don't think that, that should be necessary elsewhere. You make many good things, but I do believe these financial statements are getting bigger and bigger. Now you have to go to Page 37 to get a 5-year overview of the financial statements because what we are adopting is the financial statements, but it comes far down the list. But I would like more information that is available here. This is not a very full 5-year overview. That's a basic element, you could show what the equity is per year, even if it's unchanged, what the dividend is per year and what the intrinsic value because it gives us as shareholders, a fast overview of how the company is doing. I mean, it can't be that we need to browse through 170 pages to find this, and it's even in English now. So it's a bit difficult. I have a question. Why does the company not feel that shareholders should be treated as well as employees? The employees, they get a wonderful lunch every day I know that. But we are not shareholders. We are not given a nice lunch, even if you have a canteen just next door. So why do you have to treat shareholders worse than employees? And going forward, I would recommend you to have the AGM in Danish. We have to take good care of the Danish language. We also have to take good care of the Danish shareholders. If not, the shares go abroad, and that's not -- doesn't serve us well. And Danes, perhaps they do not respond quickly enough because a stock announcement, the stock message is in English stock exchange announcement. So people speak English, they can react quicker than Danish shareholders. So they have won up on us. I know it's the government that has let us down as it does -- as it's done in so many other ways. But actually, it should be legislation that any report should be given in Danish. The financial statements, at least to a certain extent, should be available in Danish, and stock exchange announcements should be in Danish. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you, Kjeld Beyer. There were a couple of concrete pieces of good advice. To the Chairman's speed in delivering his report, I think he's just enthusiastic, isn't he? So anyway. There was a piece of good advice in connection with the financial statements. And there was a question I can just mention we also talked about that in last year's AGM, this matter of a meal for the shareholders. It did not win approval at the AGM last year. And there's a comment from the floor without a microphone. I'm not to give the reply since the Chairman last year, there were some considerations, including tax considerations and logistic considerations, which made that difficult. But I'm going to leave the floor to Lars Rasmussen here.

Thank you, Kjeld Beyer for your comments and queries. And in a way, I also thank you for correcting me to read out too fast. People are not normally accusing me of being too fast. But anyway, I can't follow up on it. But Dorothea can. So next year, yes, anyway, it is true that even if we have cleared out the most difficult worst, there are still lots of things to understand. I understand that. I'm sorry about that. I think I was just being enthusiastic. You're also right when you say that you have to go quite many pages down before we get to the financial numbers. There's been a lot of discussion about CSRP reporting. How do you strike a good balance? So that this is about the financial statements. But the stakeholders that there are in the company today, they want to know more than only the development of the numbers. They want to know how we run the business. They want to know that we act responsibly in a number of areas, not only in the financial area. So that is why there's more sort of the external stuff you could say. Some people say it's just a bit of nothing. I want to get to the numbers. But I think it really is an expression of what the world looks like today. There is more complexity in running a business. There are more people who are working to do something different than just making products and checking numbers. And this is also the case for us. I think this is also related to the other comment you have concerning Danish. You cannot find a global C25 company today where things are only in Danish. We used to speak Danish on the board. That is many years ago. Reports could be in Danish, you could speak Danish when you went to work. That is many years ago. It's now English. That's the business language. Obviously, this is reflected also in what version is valid. This is the English version. The English version is the original. So it is here to stay. I'm sorry to say. I understand your comment, but even as a Danish company, we have to take note of that. The matter of lunch, you are consistent. You do mention it every year. We voted about it last year actually. I don't think you can find other C25 companies that offer the shareholders lunch. Can you? Who does that? DSV is the comment without a microphone. So I'm sorry, the interpreters cannot hear that. Well, I'm sorry, we cannot hear what is being said without a microphone. Let me repeat as the Chairman. We do not respect any shareholders anymore. What's the comment? Well, we certainly do respect shareholders. We are very pleased to have you as shareholders. But we do not believe that lunch is an expression of respect. But anyway, we are not offering lunch. We give you a good cup of coffee and a few [ sweets ]. I think we are more like most other companies. Lunch has disappeared. There's not going to be any different. Right. I'm sorry, I couldn't accommodate you on that one.

Thank you. Are there, any other comments? Yes.

My name is Peter Nagel, and I've been a shareholder for a number of years. And I'm very happy to see the good results that the company has achieved. So congratulations. But as a shareholder, I also think about the future. Will there be a dividend? Will there be an increase in the share price in the coming years? And therefore, my question is about risks. And 1 set of risks is the product pipeline that you've established. Looking at the AGM's back in time here in Lundbeck. Well, then for a few years, you had a very promising pipeline, but then all of a sudden, it wasn't promising anyway and you had to make changes. What is the assessment of the Board of Directors and the CEO of the risks in the product pipeline you have? How sure are you that you will reach your goals with this pipeline. Those were the risks concerning the pipeline there. Another set of risks is the fact that when you watch the news, hardly a day goes by that there isn't news from the White House about customs and tariffs, how are tariffs on European drugs affect the bottom line of Lundbeck?

Thank you, Peter Nagel. Those were, first of all, a few words of praise for the company, and then we had a few concrete questions about the risks of the product pipeline and when it comes to custom tariffs from the U.S.

Thank you for your question. So the first 1 is on risk. And I think 1 of the important things, of course, in our industry is how do we minimize that scientific risk. And under the leadership of Johan in R&D, we've really changed in the last 5 years to understanding the biology, really what is the underlying cause of the disease understanding the target to really fully understand what is causing the disease and how can we target that. So to manage that risk, we make sure that in this early understanding of the biology, but also understanding how we go through the clinical stage that we put significant effort in there to ensure that we have a better outcome later down in the pipeline. So this is how most companies, but including us, in a sense, companies who are very focused on research is understanding the biology and in a sense, let the molecule speak, as we say, to ensure that we have the best understanding in the profile to be able to derisk in the later stages. So this is how we think about our scientific risk. And what we see in the pipeline is a blend of sometimes first-in-class molecules and sometimes best-in-class. Best-in-class might be that we already have some knowledge from others, from other companies who've done some of this work and how can we improve to be even better than what is there. And sometimes first-in-class is a little bit more novel where we are going to be the first to the market. But we, of course, also understand that others are also there. So we learned from others in data that is published there as well. So that's how we try and manage scientific risk. On the topic of tariffs, I would again say that for many of us, it's a question of what is really rhetoric or what is coming in a sense through this channel versus more of what is real policy. And of course, I think we try and model and understand these things for what it might mean for us in the future, but it's really at this stage, very difficult to speculate on something that is not a real policy as yet. And for us, the U.S. market is important as it is for most life sciences companies. So we continue to look forward to work with the U.S. administration to ensure the best way forward for our medicines to reach patients. But thank you for your question, Peter. Thank you.

Are there any further questions or comments? Kjeld Beyer comes back.

I'd like to hear if the company cooperates with Bill Gates?

That's a bit of a strange question, Bill Gates. He thinks that there's too many people on the globe.

There are scientists who have now researched into a vaccine, and there are things in vaccines that shouldn't be there. They all cooperate with Bill Gates. It is not nice if a man who has so much power. If he gives a supplement to also the pharmaceutical companies, he can influence things. It's shaking. It really shakes me. As a company, as shareholders, you have to keep an eye on what Bill Gates is doing in the world is not nice.

Thank you, a concrete question to the company, Lars Rasmussen.

The company cooperates with Microsoft. Very few companies don't. We cooperate with Microsoft because we're using their packages for our software in our computers, we have no cooperation, and we have no scientific cooperation, no pharmaceuticals that we develop with Bill Gates or any associated company. Thank you.

Thank you. So that was clarified. Are there are any further questions? Yes, come forward.

I'm [ Lars Heck ]. I have a question to the Board concerning the return to our shareholders. I want to hear from the Board whether the Board is considering share buyback programs. Are you considering that? Is a share buyback program something that you have in your toolbox that you may want to use in the future? I'm asking because the value of the company has gone down by 25% since the acquisition of Longboard and the pricing, that is based on comparing with other pharmaceutical companies. So I think the company should do well by starting up a share buyback program. I heard from the Chairman that you have capital to carry out such measures. If the Board chooses to start such a program, I think you should only buy back A shares. You can buy them with a discount of 25% compared with the B shares. And as an additional question, does the Board have any opinion about the big difference, the gigantic difference between the pricing of A shares and B shares? Three years ago, when you split up the company to A shares and B shares, I remember that the Lundbeck Foundation, they said they would give shares 1:1 between A shares and B shares. Why is there now such a gigantic difference between A shares and B shares? I know you do not have an opinion about the share price, but you may have an opinion concerning the difference. So 2 questions, one about share buyback and the second question concerning the 2 classes of shares, A and B shares

Thank you. I give the floor to Lars Rasmussen.

Thank you for these questions. This is an evergreen. It's being discussed in every company practically. Should we pay out a dividend or should we do a share buyback? You said, is it in our toolbox? Yes, obviously, it is by definition. And obviously, we have a policy for how to handle profit in the company. As it is right now, we are paying out a dividend. This is a discussion which I know that the Board is taking very seriously. All I can say is that we have the policy we have now. If it is decided to change that, there will be a good reason for it. There is a policy we have now where the profit -- so it is paying out as dividend. Yes, we do have a financial preparedness, if you like. We want that because we want to be able to make a difference in the field that we are in. There are acquisition candidates. As long as we are convinced that in the long term, we can create more value for all stakeholders, including shareholders by making acquisitions, we will do that rather than paying out more. It may change over time, particularly if some of the things we have in the pipeline really come out there. The thing is that we have loss of exclusivity. Our patent expires. Some of the products have patents that expire. So the new things that come in, we will balance out the things that will have a lower selling price because the patent expires. So this is what we're working on. This is also as you said, perhaps the pricing is rather low. It had to do -- has to do with the quality of the long-term revenue. We need some of the new products that we'll be launching can demonstrate that they really can take over in the areas where we are losing patents, patents are expiring. It can be difficult to talk about the share of the share price. There was a person who said to me once, there was a share was responsible for. I couldn't understand it was so cheap. And the person said, it's probably because there are more sellers than buyers. It could be that there are more buyers and sellers for the B shares and the opposite for the A shares. It could look that way. Thank you.

Thank you. Does anyone else wish to speak? Kjeld Beyer hopefully, for a brief comment.

Well, I have seen companies who don't give out dividends, but then buy back shares, and that's very comfortable. If the Board of Directors and executive management have share options, then they can increase their remuneration that way. So if you turn to buying back your own shares, I would say to you, please do not spend more money buying new shares than you spend on paying dividends to your shareholders.

That was a recommendation for the company. In any case, that is duly noted. Does anyone else wish to take the floor? Any other comments? That is not the case. That means that we have been through Item 1 and 2, and I can then conclude that the report of the Board of Directors has been taken note of and that the AGM has adopted the annual report for 2024. That leads me to Item 3 on our agenda. And this is -- that's the thing we've been talking about when you have your documents in Danish and English. This is the appropriation of profit or loss. And as the Chairman of the Board has mentioned in his report, the proposal is to pay out 30% of annual net profits, which is DKK 0.95 per share, corresponding to a total dividend of DKK 946 million. Any questions or comments in this regard? That is not the case. That is then adopted. That leads me to Item 4, which is the presentation of the remuneration report for 2024. Here, I refer to the remuneration report that can be found on the company's website. Are there any comments or questions under this item? That is not the case. That means that it has been approved. That leads me to Item 5, which is the election of members to the Board of Directors. And here, again, I pass the floor to the Chair of the Board, Lars Rasmussen.

At last year's AGM, we elected 7 board members. Those are the ones I talked about in my introduction, these are myself,Lene Skole-Sørensen, Santiago Arroyo, Jeffrey Berkowitz, Lars Erik Holmqvist, Jakob Riis, Dorothea Wenzel. As you may recall, 1 of the former Board members did not run again at last year's AGM. And this year, I am leaving. So to ensure that the Board always has the necessary qualifications and competencies. The Board is proposing to elect Lars Green as a new Board member. The Board finds that the proposed 7 candidates together will have the necessary professional international experience to maintain the company's position as a leading global pharmaceutical company. You can see Lars Green's profile here. He's an experienced gentleman, and he's had a long beautiful career with Novo Nordisk and Novozymes, and he has worked both in Denmark and not least in the U.S., and he has primarily had CFO positions or that kind of position in good finance. Now, he have received everything, but Lars Green, if he is elected, he will be considered an independent Board member. And it's important as a Board that you have a balance. You should have a bit more independent members than dependent members. So I give the floor back to the Chairman of the meeting.

Are there any questions or comments to this item? There was a comment without a microphone. Lars Green has been introduced here. I don't know that -- I don't think there's any further need. I think this was very well done and the complete proposal, you have a full presentation of him. Are there any other questions or comments? Not the case. So duly adopted. Congratulations to the reelected Board members and the newly elected Board member, Lars Green. Further to what the Chairman of the Board said, 4 out of the 7 members of the Board are now independent. So that brings us to Item 6 on the agenda. This is approval of the remuneration for the Board of Directors for the current financial year. I refer you to the complete proposals and what is listed here on the screen behind me. Are there any questions or queries in this regard? Not the case, duly adopted. That brings me to Item 7 of the agenda, the election of an auditor. Here, I also refer you to the complete proposals and the proposal is in accordance with the recommendation from the Audit Committee. And as you can see in the convening notice, the Audit Committee has not been under any influence from any third party in this connection. And the Audit Committee has not been subject to any limitations in regard to their recommendation. The actual proposal to elect -- appoint the auditor also covers PwC as the sustainability auditor in accordance with the current rules. Are there any questions or queries? Not the case. So PwC has been duly approved. Thank you very much. That brings us to Item 8 on the agenda. These are proposals from the Board. 8.1 is a proposal to allow the company or the Board within certain restrictions to acquire up to 10% treasury shares. Any comments? Not the case. People are applauding, so duly approved. 8.2, this is a technical amendment of the articles. It says now in the articles that the AGM is to be held in the capital region. As we know, this is being discontinued. It will be region East. So it has now been proposed to put in the articles now that general meetings should be held in Greater Copenhagen. No comments or queries concerning that. I didn't expect that. That brings us to 8.3, the proposal to adjust the company's remuneration policy. This is the executive management that can increase that potential in the LTI program and the introduction of a requirement concerning a certain holding of shares for members of the executive management. I refer you to the complete proposals and the summary that you have on the screen behind me. Are there any questions or comments concerning that, and that has been duly adopted. That brings us to the last proposal is 8.4. This is the standard authorization to the Chairman of the meeting, when it comes to notifying the Danish Business Authority, normally, there are no comments or queries concerning this one, not the case here either. So that brings me to Item 9, the last item on the agenda, any other business. This is the last chance to sort of give any comments, ask any questions, not the case. So the items on the agenda have been exhausted, and I give the floor back to Lars Rasmussen.

Thank you, Jorgen. I would also like to thank you for this year's AGM. Once again, thank you for allowing me to be part of this incredible companies, Board of Directors for the past 12 years. It has been an absolute pleasure to follow the development at close range, and I would like to thank my colleagues on the Board of Directors for the good cooperation. Also, a warm thank you to our executive management and most of all, all of our employees in Lundbeck and our partners for your dedicated work year after year. Finally, a practical note, next year's AGM will take place on the 18th of March. Thank you for your attention.