Novo Nordisk Foundation

Novo Nordisk Foundation

Founded	1989;36 years ago (1989) in Denmark
Type	Fund
Headquarters	Hellerup, Denmark
Fields	Life-sciences, natural sciences, social sciences
Endowment	DKK  1,060 billion (US$148 billion) in 2024
Website	novonordiskfonden.dk/en

The Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF) is an international enterprise foundation focusing on medical treatment and research.

In 2023, the foundation had a net worth of DKK 1,060bn ^[1] (€142bn ≈ US$148bn), making it the wealthiest charitable foundation in the world. NNF owns Novo Holdings A/S, a holding company that is the majority voting shareholder of Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical corporation. ^[2]

In 2024 the foundation awarded DKK 10.1bn (€1.35bn) in grants ^[3] .

In 2023, the foundation awarded grants worth 9.1bn DKK ^[4] (approx. $1.33bn) ^[5] and paid out 5.8bn DKK ^[6] (approx. $0.84bn).

From 2016 to 2022, the foundation distributed more than US$4.5bn in grants for research, innovation, treatment, education, humanitarian and social purposes. ^{[7] [8]}

While the main focus lies within biomedicine and biotechnology research, NNF also awards grants for research in general practice and family medicine, nursing and art history.

History

In 1922, Danish professor August Krogh received permission to produce insulin in the Nordic countries. This sparked the development of new diabetes treatments and the beginning of a Danish business and export venture. Several foundations were also established which have subsequently merged into the Novo Nordisk Foundation. ^[9]

In recent years, the Novo Nordisk Foundation has increased its focus on innovation, diabetes treatment and grants for humanitarian and social purposes. In 2016, the Novo Nordisk Foundation awarded a little over 420 million US dollars to the Capital Region of Denmark to establish Steno Diabetes Center in Copenhagen, a diabetes treatment and research institution. ^{[10] [11]} In 2020, the Novo Nordisk Foundation established the BioInnovation Institute in Copenhagen with a €470 million grant, an independent Novo Nordisk Foundation aimed at accelerating life science start-ups. ^{[12] [13] [14]}

Legal structure

The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an established enterprise foundation. It is a self-governing entity with no owners, focusing on long-term ownership of the Novo Group (Novo Nordisk and Novozymes) while combining business and philanthropy with scientific, humanitarian and social purposes. The Novo Nordisk Foundation's investment activities are managed by its 100%-owned subsidiary, Novo Holdings A/S whose sole purpose is to invest the foundations wealth and ensure financial returns. Novo Holdings A/S is also the holding company for the foundation's ownership in Novo Group (Novo Nordisk and Novozymes). ^{[15] [16] [17]}

Ownership structure

The Novo Nordisk Foundation is obligated to maintain its controlling ownership in the Novo Group's two largest companies: Novo Nordisk and Novozymes.

• The foundation owns class A and B-shares in Novo Nordisk corresponding to approximately 28 percent of the total equity and approximately 75 percent of the total voting rights. ^[15]
• The foundation owns class A and B-shares in Novozymes corresponding to approximately 25 percent of the total equity and approximately 71 percent of the total voting rights. ^[15]

The class A-shares in both companies (Novo Nordisk and Novozymes) are unlisted and consequently cannot be publicly traded. The voting weight of the A-shares are 10 times those of B-shares in both companies.

The current chairman of the Novo Nordisk Foundation is Lars Rebien Sørensen (former CEO of Novo Nordisk) and Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen is the current CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. ^[18]

Profits and taxation

The Novo Nordisk Foundation receives cashflows and profits from paid dividends from Novo Holdings A/S. The paid dividends are taxed in the underlying companies in correspondence with Danish corporate tax laws, prior to being paid out as dividends.^{[ citation needed ]}

Endowment

The Novo Nordisk Foundation is the primary owner of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S through the foundation's subsidiary company Novo Holdings A/S. ^[19] Aside from Novo Nordisk and Novozymes, the foundation is also a major shareholder in more than 135 other companies as of 2022. ^[20] The foundation's financial endowment is maintained by dividends and returns on these investments.

Types of grants

The Novo Nordisk Foundation offers grants under five main models: ^[21]

• Open-competition Grants: These are regular research grants awarded through open calls to the academic community. They include both shorter-duration project-focused grants and longer-duration research leader grants.
• Stand-alone Grants: These are awarded within the Novo Nordisk Foundation's focus areas based on peer reviews. They encompass project grants, research leader grants, investigator grants, fellowships, infrastructure grants, and more.
• Partnerships: Grants awarded for collaborations with public and/or private partners.
• Impact Investments: Targeting companies like start-ups, often in the form of loans and investments, to support activities with positive societal impact.
• Own Initiatives: Grants for initiatives that start as local units of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and then are spun out as independent foundations.

Distribution of grants

The foundation has an objective of providing support for scientific, humanitarian and social purposes. The grants go primarily to support research in biomedicine, biotechnology, general medicine, nursing and art history at public knowledge institutions. Humanitarian and social purposes includes the Steno Diabetes Center research hospital. ^[22]

Annual distribution summary

• In 2024, the foundation distributed a total of DKK 10.1 billion ^[23] (approx. $1.39 billion) and paid out DKK 6.9 billion ($1.08 billion) in grants. ^[24]
• In 2023, the foundation distributed a total of DKK 9.1 billion ^[5] (approx. $1.33 billion) and paid out DKK 5.8 billion ($0.84 billion) in grants. ^[6]
• In 2022, the foundation distributed a total of DKK 7.5 billion ^[7] (approx $1.08 billion) and paid out DKK 5.2 billion ($0.76 billion) in grants. ^{[25] [7]}
• In 2021, the foundation distributed a total of DKK 8.8 billion ^[26] (approx $1.18 billion) and paid out DKK 4.8 billion ($0.65 billion) in grants. ^[27]
• In 2020, the foundation distributed a total of DKK 10.17 billion ^[28] (approx $1.67 billion) and paid out DKK 4.6 billion ($0.75 billion) in grants.
• In 2019, the foundation distributed a total of DKK 8.5 billion ^[29] (approx $1.29 billion) and paid out DKK 3.6 billion ($0.57 billion) in grants.
• In 2018, the foundation distributed a total of DKK 3.9 billion ^[30] (approx $0.59 billion) and paid out DKK 1,75 billion ($0.28 billion) in grants.
• In 2017, the foundation distributed support for DKK 5.8 billion ^{[31] [32]} (approx $0.88 billion)
• In 2016, the fund provided support for DKK 4.2 billion ^[31] (approx $0.64 billion).

Prizes

The Novo Nordisk Foundation awards several prizes, including the Novo Nordisk Prize for outstanding research in medical science and the Novozymes Prize focusing on biotechnology and environmental research. The Novo Nordisk Foundation also recognise achievements in teaching and education in the sciences through awards such as the Hagedorn Prize and various scholarships and grants to support upcoming scientists and educators. ^[33]

International prizes

• The Novo Nordisk Prize – Advances in medical science
• The Novozymes Prize
• The Marie and August Krogh Prize
• The Jacobaeus Prize
• The Hagedorn Prize
• The EFSD and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Precision Diabetes Medicine Award
• Obesity Prize for Excellence
• Diabetes Prize for Excellence
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Lecture Prize
• EFSD/Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk Foundation Future Leaders Award Programme

Teaching prizes

• Novo Nordisk Foundation Prize for Upper-secondary School Science Teachers
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Prize for Science Teachers at University Colleges
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Prize for Science Childhood Educators
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Prize for Primary School Science Teachers
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Prize for Lower-secondary School Science Teachers
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Nature-based Educator Prize

Criticism

Role in research and funding

The level of research funding concentration granted from enterprise foundations has consistently been a central issue in science policy discussions. Intensive concentration has been viewed both as a means to enhance and direct research investments effectively and as a concerning trend leading to excessive competition, reduced diversity, and the selection of conservative topics. ^[34]

There is a focus on evaluating potential imbalances in the distribution of research funds in Danish society regarding the role of the Novo Nordisk Foundation in advancing scientific research and innovation. ^[35]

One criticism is related to the foundation's significant economic influence in the research landscape. The substantial grants from the foundation may inadvertently overshadow other sources of research funding and potentially lead to a concentration of resources in certain research areas closely aligned with the foundation's priorities and interests. ^[36]

Concerns have been raised about the potential influence of the Novo Nordisk Foundation's agenda on the direction of scientific research. Critics express concerns about the potential effect of the foundation's allocation of funds on the diversity of research topics and perspectives within the Danish scientific community, ^[37] as it tends to prioritize projects that align with its strategic goals. ^[38]

Funding disparities

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has faced criticism for the concentration of its research funding, often favouring a select group of established researchers. This trend, prevalent in many countries, leads to funding disparities, where a majority of resources are allocated to a small percentage of researchers, often to the detriment of early-career, female, and diverse researchers. In response to these concerns, the Novo Nordisk Foundation has introduced partial randomisation in its grant allocation process. ^[39] This approach was designed to mitigate biases and increase the diversity of funded research, aiming to support projects that might otherwise be overlooked. The effectiveness of this strategy has been under evaluation during a three-year trial period. ^[39]

Initiatives

Major initiatives (2024–present)

Global Science Summit: Since 2024 the Foundation has launched or expanded several large-scale programmes and international activities ^{[40] [41]} . In May 2024 it convened the first Global Science Summit in Copenhagen, bringing together approximately 150 scientific leaders to discuss challenges in health, sustainability, and technology. ^[42]

Gefion AI Supercomputer: The Foundation funded Gefion, Denmark’s first dedicated artificial intelligence supercomputer, to support research ^[43] in areas such as healthcare, life sciences and quantum computing. ^{[44] [45]}

Climate Resilient Crops initiative: The Foundation launched the Ancient Environmental Genomics Initiative for Sustainability (AEGIS) in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust, providing up to DKK 585 million to develop climate-resilient crops. ^{[46] [47]}

Partnership for Education of Health Professionals (PEP): In global health, the Foundation initiated the Partnership for Education of Health Professionals (PEP) with a budget of DKK 1 billion to train nurses and health workers in Africa and India.

BRIGHT:Biotechnology Research Institute for the Green Transition (BRIGHT) at the Technical University of Denmark, funded with DKK 1.05 billion.

Antimicrobial Resistance: In antimicrobial resistance, the Foundation committed USD 25 million to the CARB-X initiative, a global, non-profit public-private partnership that accelerates the development of new antibiotics, therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines to combat the growing threat of drug-resistant bacteria, led by Boston University ^[48] .

International Activities

Expansion of grants outside Denmark

In 2024 the Novo Nordisk Foundation announced plans to increase the share of its social, scientific, and humanitarian grants allocated outside Denmark. The Foundation stated that many of the challenges it supports such as climate change, health inequities and sustainability are global in scope and require cross-border collaboration ^[49] . Although Denmark remains the largest recipient of its funding, the Foundation’s leadership confirmed that its revenues are predominantly earned abroad and that a growing proportion of future grants will be directed internationally.

In 2025 Reuters reported that the Foundation’s international grants amounted to about USD 150 million (roughly one-tenth of total annual disbursements) and that its leadership intends to gradually increase this share in the coming years ^[50] .

The Foundation’s Challenge Programme

The Foundation’s long-running Challenge Programme was broadened in 2025 to support research groups based outside Denmark. Under the new rules, applicants from the Schengen Area, Ireland, Cyprus, and the United Kingdom became eligible to apply for funding. The maximum single-project grant was raised to DKK 75 million (approximately USD 11 million) ^[51] . The expansion marked one of the first steps in the Foundation’s stated “increased international focus”.

Partnerships with global organizations

The Foundation has established multiple partnerships with international health and research institutions. In 2024 it joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust in a collaboration valued at approximately USD 300 million to fund global health initiatives and scientific research ^[52] .

In 2025 the Foundation pledged DKK 380 million (USD 57.8 million) to the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen programmes targeting non-communicable diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and health-system resilience between 2025 and 2028 ^[53] . According to the accompanying press release, this commitment forms part of a strategic framework agreement between the Foundation and WHO ^[54] .

Offices and regional presence

To support its growing international portfolio, the Foundation began to establish branch offices outside Denmark. In 2024 it opened a regional office in Nairobi , Kenya, to coordinate local health and education programmes in East Africa, and expanded operations in India to manage projects under the Partnership for Education of Health Professionals(PEP) initiative ^[55] . The expansion of offices in Africa and Asia is described by analysts as part of the Foundation’s broader effort to globalize its operations while maintaining Denmark as its administrative and financial base ^[49] .

Research initiatives

Stem cell-based therapy research: In 2018, the Novo Nordisk Foundation invested in stem cell-based therapy research to focus on new therapeutic approaches for chronic diseases, exploring the regenerative potential of stem cells. ^{[56] [57] [58]}

COVID-19 pandemic: The Novo Nordisk Foundation contributed to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. ^[59] As of June 2020), the foundation had donated DKK 366.2 million ^[60] (approx $55.77 million) for COVID-19 related measures, including test centres in Denmark (DKK 250 million for 11 COVID-19 test centres ^[61] ), financing research projects ^[62] aimed at mitigating the health consequences of COVID-19, ^[60] emergency production of ethanol in cooperation with the Carlsberg Foundation ^[63] to manufacture hand sanitizers and disinfection.

Pandemic antiviral discovery initiative: In 2022, the Novo Nordisk Foundation formed in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Open Philanthropy to focus on developing accessible oral antiviral treatments for viruses with pandemic potential. The initiative aimed to support researchers globally in identifying and developing phase 2-ready antiviral drug candidates. ^{[64] [65] [66] [67]}

Vaccine development for respiratory diseases: In 2023, the Novo Nordisk Foundation allocated $260 million to develop vaccines for respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis and influenza. This initiative, known as the Novo Nordisk Foundation Initiative for Vaccines and Immunity (NIVI), collaborated with the University of Copenhagen and Denmark's Statens Serum Institut. It emphasised generating immunity in the airway, a novel approach in vaccine development. ^{[68] [69] [70] [71]}

Combatting antimicrobial resistance and tuberculosis: In 2023, the Novo Nordisk Foundation worked on developing vaccines and treatments for tuberculosis, addressing the broader issue of antimicrobial resistance. ^{[72] [73]}

Cell therapy facility: In 2023, the Novo Nordisk Foundation launched an initiative to support research infrastructure development, specifically aimed at facilitating the creation and scaling up of cell therapy solutions and products. ^{[56] [74]}

Governance

The Novo Nordisk Foundation is headed by Chairman of the Board Lars Rebien Sørensen and CEO Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen.

Board of Directors

The Novo Nordisk Foundation's Board of Directors consists of a total of 10 members. In addition to the Chairman and Vice Chairman, the Board consists of four members elected by statute, two of whom must have medical or scientific expertise, and three employee representatives from Novo Nordisk and Novonesis (formerly Novozymes ). ^[75]

Name [75]	Board position
Lars Rebien Sørensen	Chairman of the Board, former CEO of Novo Nordisk
Lars Henrik Munch	Vice Chairman
Christopher A. Voigt	Board member
Jakob Müller	Board member
Lars Green	Board member
Barbara Casadei	Board member
Mads Grøn	Board member
Nana Bule Sejbæk	Board member
Steen Riisgaard	Board member
Stig Strøbæk	Board member

Executive Management

The Foundation's management is responsible for executing the decisions of the Board of Directors and for overseeing the Foundation's activities and operations. In June 2025, the Foundation introduced a new executive management structure, ^[76] which involved organizational restructuring and staff reductions.

Name [77]	Position
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen	Chief Executive Officer, Professor, DVM, PhD, DSc
Flemming Konradsen	Chief Scientific Officer - Health
Lene Oddershede	Chief Scientific Officer - Planetary Science & Technology
Søren Nedergaard	Chief Portfolio Officer - Portfolio, People & Partnerships
Erika Söderberg Johnsson	Chief Financial Officer - Finance & Operations
Steffen P. Lüders	Chief Corporate Affairs officer - Corporate Affairs
Pelle Munk-Poulsen	Chief Legal Officer - Legal & Governance

See also

• List of wealthiest foundations
• Financial endowment
• Private foundation
• Foundation (nonprofit)

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