Fondation Novo Nordisk

The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an independent Danish foundation with corporate interests. The objective of the Novo Nordisk Foundation is twofold: To provide a stable basis for the commercial and research activities conducted by the companies within the Novo Group and to support scientific and humanitarian purposes.

n organizational terms, the Novo Nordisk Foundation awards grants and Novo A/S, the Foundation’s wholly owned subsidiary, manages the Foundation’s commercial activities. The objective of Novo A/S is to manage the Foundation’s endowment and its controlling interests in Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, thereby ensuring that the Foundation obtains a satisfactory financial return.

Novo A/S

Novo A/S is the holding company for companies in the Novo Group. In addition to its ownership stake in Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, Novo A/S manages the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s endowment by:

investing in life-science companies at various stages of their development:

• at the seed phase – the green-shoots stage with modest capital requirements;
• in the venture phase – in which an established company needs to develop its business concept further; and

other investments:

• in well-managed, well-established and profitable biomedical and bioindustrial companies, such as Chr. Hansen;
• financial investments, primarily in equities and bonds.

Vision and Mission

The world is facing major challenges as the global population increases and ages. Simultaneously, human health and the environment are under pressure: more people have lifestyle-related diseases, resources are being depleted and carbon dioxide emissions are rising.

More research is required so that the world can improve how disease is combated and how natural resources are used.

The vision of the Novo Nordisk Foundation is:

To contribute significantly to research and development that improves the health and welfare of people.

The Foundation uses its independence, flexibility and long-term perspective to promote world-class research. In this way the Foundation contributes to developing solutions that address the pressing challenges of the future – to benefit both individuals and society as a whole.

Our mission is:

• that our companies create world-class business results. This will be achieved by generating research-based products and services that improve how disease is combated and how natural resources are used.
• to promote research at universities and hospitals within the health sciences and biotechnology. This will be achieved by developing a knowledge environment in which innovative and talented people can carry out research of the highest quality.