Novo Nordisk A/S

It is unusual for a company among the world's big pharmaceutical players to focus solely on one medical issue. Novo Nordisk is one of these outliers, focused almost solely on the research and development of diabetic drugs and therapies. The headquarters of the corporation are located in a Copenhagen suburb. Despite its tiny size, the Scandinavian country is a pharmaceutical powerhouse. Novo Nordisk is perhaps the most well-known Danish company in the world, as well as the country's second largest by sales, trailing only transportation and logistics powerhouse Maersk.

In 2023, Novo Nordisk will celebrate its 100th anniversary. The Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium has been committed to the treatment of diabetes and the production of insulin since its foundation in 1923. In late 2022, Novo Nordisk was ranked among the top 10 global pharma and biotech businesses by market capitalization. It is also the largest diabetic treatment company in the world. Diabetes treatment accounts for almost four-fifths of the company's global sales of approximately $25 billion. Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sanofi are among the market leaders.

Diabetes revenues are principally generated by three product lines. The most substantial single share is accounted for by products based on glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Ozempic, a prominent Novo Nordisk medication, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that increases insulin production. Ozempic generated around $8.6 billion in revenue in 2022. The other two product types are long-acting and fast-acting insulins. With approximately 2.2 billion US dollars in global sales, NovoRapid/NovoLog is one of the more well-known fast-acting insulins.

The estimates from Novo Nordisk suggest a significant growth, albeit this is also due to the global expansion and rise of diabetes. Diabetes is one of the world's most common diseases, claiming millions of lives each year. The global diabetic population is expected to increase from 463 million to over 700 million by 2045. As a result, the adult diabetes prevalence is predicted to climb from 9.3 percent to more than 11 percent. Diabetes and its complications are expected to cost roughly 760 billion US dollars globally. China has around 120 million diabetics, making it the world's most populous country. As a result, Novo Nordisk's success in China is - and will continue to be - essential.

Founded: 1923
Headquarters: Novo Allé, DK-2880, Bagsværd, Denmark
Website: https://www.novonordisk.com/