Novo Nordisk A/S

Idea

Novo Nordisk A/S, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity care, and rare diseases (biopharmaceuticals). The Diabetes and Obesity care segment provides products in the areas of insulins, GLP-1 and related delivery systems, oral antidiabetic products, obesity, and other chronic diseases. The Biopharmaceuticals segment offers products in the areas of haemophilia, growth disorders, and hormone replacement therapy. The company collaboration agreements with Gilead Sciences, Inc. Novo Nordisk A/S also has a research collaboration with Lumen Bioscience, Inc. to explore strategies for delivering oral biologics for cardiometabolic disease. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.

Novo Nordisk was founded in 1923 by two Danish brothers, August and Harald Krogh, with the idea of developing and manufacturing insulin for people with diabetes. The company has since grown to become the world's largest insulin producer and a leading developer of treatments for other serious chronic diseases, including obesity, haemophilia, and growth disorders.

Mission Statement

Novo Nordisk's mission is to "drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases." The company does this by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to its medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure the diseases it treats.

Segments & Key Projects

Novo Nordisk operates in three segments:

• Diabetes Care: This segment develops and manufactures insulin and other products for the treatment of diabetes.
• Obesity & Metabolism: This segment develops and manufactures products for the treatment of obesity and other metabolic diseases.
• Biopharmaceuticals: This segment develops and manufactures products for the treatment of haemophilia, growth disorders, and other rare diseases.

Revenue Breakdown by Sector

In 2022, Novo Nordisk's revenue breakdown by sector was as follows:

• Diabetes Care: 64%
• Obesity & Metabolism: 20%
• Biopharmaceuticals: 16%

Projects

Novo Nordisk is currently working on a number of projects to develop new treatments for serious chronic diseases. These include:

• A new long-acting insulin that is designed to be more effective and easier to use.
• A new drug for the treatment of obesity that works by targeting the brain's appetite control centre.
• A new gene therapy for the treatment of haemophilia.

Novo Nordisk's flagship weight-loss drug Ozempic gained approval in late 2017/early 2018 and has been responsible for a large chunk of its revenues since. In 2021 they released their a more recent weight-loss drug Wegovy which has since been widely successful as well. Aside from weight-loss medications Novo Nordisk is one of the worlds biggest insulin manufacturers.

Leadership

The company is led by an executive management team of 11 people, and a separate board of directors consisting of 12 people.

Key leadership figures:

Chief Executive Officer

Novo Nordisk is led by Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who has been the company's CEO since 2017. Mr Jørgensen joined Novo Nordisk in 1991 as an economist in Health Care, Economy & Planning and has over the years completed overseas postings in the Netherlands, the US and Japan. In 2004 he was appointed senior vice president for IT & Corporate Development. In January 2013 he was appointed executive vice president and chief information officer assuming responsibility for IT, Quality & Corporate Development. In November 2014 he took over the responsibilities for Corporate People & Organisation and Business Assurance and became chief of staff. Mr Jørgensen was appointed president and chief executive officer in January 2017. Mr Jørgensen also serves as first vice-president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). He holds an MSc in Finance and Business Administration from Aarhaus School of Business, Denmark.

Chief Financial Officer

Karsten Munk Knudsen joined Novo Nordisk in 1999 as a business analyst in NNIT A/S, previously a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk, and has since held finance positions of growing size and complexity throughout the Novo Nordisk value chain. From 2010 to 2014 Mr Knudsen was corporate vice president for Finance & IT at Novo Nordisk Inc. in the US and in 2014 he was appointed senior vice president of Corporate Finance in Novo Nordisk. In February 2018 Mr Knudsen was promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer. In 2019, Mr Knudsen assumed further responsibilities as his area was expanded to cover Finance, Legal & Procurement followed by a further expansion in 2022 when he assumed responsibility for Global Solutions. Mr Knudsen also serves as chair of the board of directors of NNE A/S and as a member of the board of directors of Hempel A/S, both in Denmark. He holds an MSc in Finance from the University of Aarhaus, Denmark.

Chief Scientific Officer

Dr Marcus Schindler joined Novo Nordisk in January 2018 as senior vice president for External Innovation and Strategy. From March 2018 to 2021 he was senior vice president for Global Drug Discovery and in March 2021 Dr Schindler was appointed executive vice president for Research & Early Development and chief scientific officer. Prior to joining Novo Nordisk Dr Schindler was vice president, head of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases innovative medicines (CVMD iMed) at AstraZeneca, Sweden. From 2009-2012 he was head of research at (OSI) Prosidion, Oxford, UK. From 2000-2008 he worked in various leadership roles at Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany after having started his career with Glaxo Wellcome/GSK, UK in 1997. Dr Schindler holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK. He is also an adjunct professor of Pharmacology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Executive VP, North America Operations Head

Mr Doug Langa joined Novo Nordisk in 2011 as senior director of Managed Markets. In 2015 Mr Langa was promoted to corporate vice president of Market Access in the US and in 2016 he was appointed senior vice president of Market Access in the US. In March 2017 Mr Langa was appointed senior vice president, head of North America Operations and president of Novo Nordisk Inc., and in August 2017 Mr Langa was promoted to executive vice president, continuing his responsibilities as head of North America Operations and president of Novo Nordisk Inc. Mr. Langa represents Novo Nordisk Inc. on the board of directors of the trade association PhRMA. Mr Langa joined Novo Nordisk from GlaxoSmithKline, where he was the senior director of payer marketing. Prior to GlaxoSmithKline Mr Langa spent the majority of his career at Johnson and Johnson, where he held various roles of increasing responsibility within managed markets, sales leadership and marketing. He holds professional certificates from Harvard Business School, Wharton School of Business, and an MBA from Fordham University.

Chair of Board of Directors

Mr Helge Lund is the Chair of the Board of Directors, the Chair Committee and the Nomination Committee of Novo Nordisk. Mr Helge was first elected to the position in 2017, and has recently been re-elected in 2023 to serve for another year. He has been a member of the board of directors since 2014. Mr Helge has previously served as Chief executive of BG Group plc., 2015-2016, President and CEO of Equinor ASA, 2004-2014, and President and CEO of Aker Kvaerner ASA, 2002-2004. Mr Helge currently also holds positions as Chair of the board of directors of BP p.l.c. and Inkerman AS, Member of the board of directors of Belron SA and P/F Tjaldur, Operating advisor to Clayton Dubilier & Rice, and Member of the board of trustees of the International Crisis Group. He holds an MBA from INSEAD, and MA in Economics from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration.

Executive VP, Commercial Strategy & Corporate Affairs.

Ms Sylvest joined Novo Nordisk in 1996 as trainee. From 1997 to 2008 Ms Sylvest had roles in headquarters and regions within pricing, health economics, marketing and sales effectiveness. In 2003, she was appointed vice president of sales and marketing effectiveness in Region Europe. From 2008 to 2015 Ms Sylvest headed up affiliates and business areas of growing size and complexity in Europe and Asia and in 2013 she was also appointed corporate vice president. In August 2015 Ms Sylvest was appointed senior vice president and general manager of Novo Nordisk’s Region China. In this role she was responsible for the company’s activities in the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong of China. In October 2017 Ms Sylvest was promoted to executive vice president for Commercial Strategy & Corporate Affairs. She also serves as vice chair of the board of directors of Danish Crown A/S, in Denmark and as member of the board of directors of Argenx SE, in the Netherlands.

Ownership Structure

Novo Nordisk is a publicly traded company on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. The largest shareholder is Novo Holdings A/S, a Danish investment company that is owned by the families of the company's founders. Novo Holdings owns approximately 25% of Novo Nordisk's shares.

Corporate Strategy

Novo Nordisk's corporate strategy is to become the leading global healthcare company in the fight against serious chronic diseases. The company plans to achieve this by:

• Pioneering scientific breakthroughs in the treatment of diabetes and other chronic diseases.
• Expanding access to its medicines to patients around the world.
• Working to prevent and ultimately cure the diseases it treats.

Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company with a strong commitment to fighting serious chronic diseases. The company is constantly innovating and developing new treatments to improve the lives of patients around the world.