Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with production facilities in nine countries and affiliates or offices in five countries. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder Novo Holdings A/S which holds approximately 28% of its shares and a majority (77%) of its voting shares.
Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services, specifically diabetes care medications and devices. Its main product is the drug semaglutide, used to treat diabetes under the brand name Ozempic and obesity under the brand name Wegovy. Novo Nordisk is also involved with hemostasis management, growth hormone therapy, and hormone replacement therapy. The company makes several drugs under various brand names, including Levemir, Tresiba, NovoLog, Novolin R, NovoSeven, NovoEight, and Victoza.
Novo Nordisk employs more than 48,000 people globally, and markets its products in 168 countries. The corporation was created in 1989, through a merger of two Danish companies which date back to the 1920s. The Novo Nordisk logo is the Apis bull, one of the sacred animals of ancient Egypt. Novo Nordisk is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
The company was ranked 25th among the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2010 and 72nd in 2014 by Fortune. In January 2012, Novo Nordisk was named the most sustainable company in the world by the business magazine Corporate Knights, while spin-off company Novozymes was named fourth. Novo Nordisk is the largest pharmaceutical company in Denmark. Its market capitalization exceeded the GDP of its domestic economy in 2023, and it is the highest valued pharmaceutical company in Europe.
History
1923
Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium commercialises the production of insulin.
1982–1994
The company established its presence in the United States in 1982.
In 1986, Novo Industri A/S acquired the Ferrosan Group, now named as "Novo Nordisk Pharmatech A/S."
In 1989, Novo Industri A/S (Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium) and Nordisk Gentofte A/S (Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium) merged to become Novo Nordisk A/S, the world's largest producer of insulin with headquarters in Bagsværd, Copenhagen.
In 1991, Novo Nordisk Engineering (now NNE A/S) demerged after working as in-house consultants at Novo Nordisk for years, to provide standard engineering services (end-to-end engineering) to pharma manufacturing companies.
In 1994, Novo Nordisk's existing information technology units was spun out as NNIT A/S. The company was converted into a wholly owned aktieselskab in 2004 In March 2015, NNIT was floated on the Nasdaq Nordic.
2000–2018
Novo’s enzymes business, Novozymes A/S, was spun-out in 2000.
Novo acquired Xellia for $700 million in 2013.
The same year, Novo Nordisk USA moved into new headquarters offices in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey, by way of extensively renovating abandoned premises. This action served to consolidate several facilities that the company had previously had in Plainsboro.
In 2015, the company announced it would collaborate with Ablynx, using its nanobody technology to develop at least one new drug candidate.
In January 2018, Reuters reported that Novo had offered to acquire Ablynx for $3.1 billion - having made an unreported offer in mid-December for the company. However, the Ablynx board rejected this offer the same day, explaining that the price undervalued the business. Ultimately Novo lost out to Sanofi who bid $4.8 billion. Later, in the same year, the company announced it would acquire Ziylo for around $800 million.
2020–present
In March 2020, Novo volunteers started testing samples for SARS-CoV-2 with RT-qPCR equipment in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to increase available test capacity. In June, the business announced it would acquire AstraZeneca's spin-off Corvidia Therapeutics for an initial sum of $725 million (up to a performance-related maximum of $2.1 billion), boosting its presence in cardiovascular diseases. In November, the company announced it would acquire Emisphere Technologies for $1.8 billion, gaining control of a pill-based treatment for diabetes. In December, Novo announced it would acquire Emisphere Technologies for $1.35 billion.
In November 2021, Novo announced it would acquire Dicerna Pharmaceuticals and its RNAi therapeutics, for $3.3 billion ($38.25 per share).
In September 2022, Novo agreed to acquire Forma Therapeutics for $1.1 billion with the intent to expand its sickle cell disease and rare blood disorders portfolio.