Driving Change: Novo Nordisk Outlines Blueprint for Its Next Century

Expand the innovation landscape, fulfill environmental ambitions, and China delivers a satisfactory answer.

BeijingMay 19, 2022/PR Newswire/ -- At the recently held annual global media briefing, Novo Nordisk, the world's leading biopharmaceutical company, provided a comprehensive interpretation of its new corporate brand philosophy "Driving Change" for the first time, covering dimensions such as R&D, sustainability, and obesity treatment. As it embarks on its second century, Novo Nordisk is underpinning "Driving Change" with actions including forward-looking innovation across multiple disease areas, an accelerated and expanded commitment to co-creation in China, and a sustainability pledge to achieve net-zero emissions.

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, President and CEO of Novo Nordisk A/SLars Fruergaard Jørgensen）"Our mission is to drive change and work together to combat diabetes and other serious chronic diseases. Our core contribution is the continuous development of innovative drugs and the expansion of drug accessibility. At the same time, we are ambitious on the path to sustainability, promoting disease prevention and drug access while fulfilling environmental responsibilities."

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, Global President and CEO of Novo Nordisk

Three Cutting-Edge Therapies Raise the Innovative Standards for Diabetes Treatment

As an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company, innovation is a key driver for Novo Nordisk to address patients' needs and collaborate on driving change. To this day, people with diabetes still face challenges such as the complexity of multiple injection regimens, anxiety caused by blood glucose monitoring, and the risk of hypoglycemia. How to meet these unmet medical needs? From weekly insulin formulations and glucose-sensitive insulin to curative therapies, Novo Nordisk dares to imagine, continuously raising the bar for innovation in diabetes treatment. By transforming scientific concepts into life-saving drugs and therapies, the company fills gaps in demand and fulfills patient expectations.

To help patients告别 the burden of daily injections, Novo Nordisk is developing icodec insulin, which is injected once a week, to provide patients with a more convenient treatment option, improve treatment adherence, and enhance their quality of life. Currently, large-scale Phase III clinical trials of icodec insulin are underway.

In addition, the company aims to develop a glucose-sensitive insulin. This insulin is activated in the body only when the patient's blood glucose level rises, with the hope of achieving better blood glucose control and reducing the occurrence of high-risk hypoglycemic events, allowing patients to no longer worry about monitoring their blood glucose.

At the same time, Novo Nordisk hopes to achieve the ultimate goal of curing diabetes through cell therapy. Its vision is to establish a high-quality, scalable cell therapy pipeline covering the entire R&D value chain. The company collaborates with leading global research universities and has been able to convert stem cells into glucose-sensitive, insulin-secreting β cells. Research results show that after transplanting β cells differentiated from human stem cells into mice, the blood sugar levels of the mice returned to normal.

Novo Nordisk Global Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) Executive Vice President of Research and Early Development Marcus Schindler"We are always committed to starting from the needs of patients, leading innovative breakthroughs in the field of diabetes treatment, and improving the quality of life for patients. Based on a strong global R&D network, we have made long-term R&D investments, establishing a solid foundation for innovation in the field of diabetes. We also utilize our professional experience and capabilities to actively address unmet medical needs in other areas of serious chronic diseases."

Marcus Schindler, Global Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and Executive Vice President of Research and Early Development at Novo Nordisk

Building on the momentum, China's innovation is accelerating "Acceleration"

In recent years, with the continuous deepening of medical reform and the continuous improvement of the innovation environment, an increasing number of globally innovative drugs have been approved in China at an accelerated pace. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the pharmaceutical industry is speeding up its transformation towards innovation-driven development, and pharmaceutical innovation remains an important tool for serving public health and contributing to the construction of Healthy China.

The "China Co-create" program, which set sail in the wave of pharmaceutical innovation, has significantly shortened the "time difference" between the domestic and international availability of global innovative drugs after being upgraded and expanded over the past two years. It has expedited the layout of clinical trials across multiple disease areas and contributed to China's pharmaceutical innovation advancing towards the "first tier" by promoting communication and collaboration.

First, global innovative drugs are accelerating their "launch" in China. In 2021, Novo Nordisk obtained NovoTai.^®(Semaglutide Injection), NovoEasy^®(Recombinant Human Coagulation Factor VIII for Injection) and NovoEight^®(Insulin Degludec and Liraglutide Injection) IIIProductionApproval for marketing in China.

At the same time, in terms of global synchronized R&D, in the field of diabetes treatment, the phase III clinical trial of icodec insulin, which is injected once a week, has been simultaneously launched in China and globally. The clinical trial of oral semaglutide in China has concluded and is expected to benefit patients with type 2 diabetes soon. While focusing on the field of diabetes treatment, Novo Nordisk is expanding into new disease areas. Currently, multiple Clinical Trial Applications (CTAs) have been approved, covering new therapeutic areas such as obesity, hemophilia, growth disorders, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), Alzheimer's disease, and other chronic diseases. Several clinical trials are currently being prepared or conducted.

Zhang Kezhou, Corporate Vice President of Medicine and Quality Department, Novo Nordisk Greater ChinaIntroduced: "We closely integrate China's R&D strategy into the global R&D system. All R&D projects carried out in China can practically benefit from 'China Co-creation,' reducing the time cycle for introducing innovative drugs into China. The insulin weekly formulation icodec is expected to become an important milestone of this project. Our goal is that after 2025, over 90% of global innovative drugs will be submitted for approval in China simultaneously. It is expected that after 2027, all will be approved simultaneously, allowing Chinese patients to use global innovative drugs at the same time."

Zhang Kezhou, Corporate Vice President of Medicine and Quality Department, Novo Nordisk Greater China

Explore Innovative Pathways for Collaboration, Co-build China's Pharmaceutical Innovation Ecosystem

Focusing on the unmet medical needs of Chinese patients, Novo Nordisk continues to explore effective paths for collaborative innovation, bringing innovative treatment solutions to patients while contributing to the development of China's pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem. Relying on the "China Innovation" project, Novo Nordisk has established clinical research strategic cooperation centers with 15 hospitals (20 departments) across different provinces and cities through the "Strategic Cooperation Center" model, jointly promoting the conduct of clinical trials and further enhancing academic exchanges and strengthening hospital R&D capacity building. In 2021, Novo Nordisk signed agreements with four leading researchers from different fields in China, forming the "Novo Nordisk Clinical Research High-Level Expert Committee."

INNOVO^®Open Innovation Platform Continues to Collaborate with China's Innovative Forces to Drive R&D Innovation and Accelerate the Transformation of Achievements. Currently, the platform has more than 20 projects. As of the end of 2021, 10 cooperation projects have been successfully completed. The two sharing initiatives, "Free Shared Compound Program" and "Open In Vitro Biological Experiment Platform," provide Chinese pharmaceutical researchers with open resources and platforms, assisting them in discovering new mechanisms of action and deepening their understanding of disease biology, thereby accelerating breakthroughs in future medical solutions.

China has a large population of patients with diabetes and other serious chronic diseases. The increasing aging population will continue to drive the demand for chronic disease management. In 2021, Novo Nordisk signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with the Administration of Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Hainan (Lecheng Administration), focusing on the field of chronic diseases. By introducing innovative drugs and exploring chronic disease management models, the collaboration aims to accelerate the introduction of Novo Nordisk's latest scientific research achievements. It also promotes comprehensive deepened cooperation in piloting innovative drugs and medical devices, as well as academic exchanges, enabling Chinese patients with chronic diseases to benefit from global innovative treatments without leaving the country.

Xiaoping Zhou, Global Senior Vice President of Novo Nordisk and President of Greater ChinaStated: "Novo Nordisk upholds the patient-centered philosophy, continuously bringing high-quality innovative drugs and treatment options to Chinese patients while expanding treatment accessibility. At the same time, we are actively exploring effective collaborative innovation methods, uniting various forces to build a pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem that transforms innovative achievements into tangible patient benefits, working together to combat diabetes and other serious chronic diseases."

Xiaoping Zhou, Global Senior Vice President of Novo Nordisk and President of Greater China

To Achieve Net Zero Emissions Commitment, Map Out Global Action Roadmap

As a company that integrates sustainability into its corporate strategy, Novo Nordisk firmly believes: driving change goes beyond just medicine. Novo Nordisk is accelerating the implementation of its "Circular for Zero" environmental strategy, committing to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions from all operations and transportation by 2030. In 2021, the company further committed to achieving net-zero emissions across the entire value chain by 2045, including suppliers' sub-suppliers, employee commuting, production materials, and more, all reaching zero carbon emissions.

At the meeting, Novo Nordisk shared an innovative injection device recycling program. In the pilot, Novo Nordisk specially recycled insulin injection devices.^®For recycling. In the future, Novo Nordisk plans to launch this initiative in more countries and regions, acting as an industry "pioneer" to explore feasible solutions for the recycling of plastic medical devices.

Novo Nordisk Greater China has formulated a localized "Circular Zero Pollution" three-year plan, implementing the green and low-carbon development concept across all links of the entire industry chain, and taking practical actions to help achieve the "dual carbon" goals. In 2020, the operations in Greater China fully transitioned to renewable energy. As early as 2016, Novo Nordisk's Tianjin production plant achieved the goal of 100% use of renewable energy, becoming one of the first enterprises in China to convert entirely from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Moreover, the Tianjin production plant has strengthened energy-saving and water-saving management by deploying an intelligent energy monitoring system and continuously exploring the application of new technologies and materials. In 2021, it saved a total of 2045MWh of electricity and reduced water consumption by 8%, equivalent to 15,000 tons, despite a 20% increase in filling output. Novo Nordisk China Research and Development Center actively promotes the informatization and digitalization of R&D, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency and reducing energy consumption. For instance, by deploying the Biosample Tracking System, it enhances resource utilization efficiency and facilitates data sharing on the drug discovery platform, gradually reducing the use of high-power storage devices, thus cutting down on energy consumption.

Xiaoping Zhou, Global Senior Vice President of Novo Nordisk and President of Greater ChinaStated: "Guided by the 'Circular Zero Pollution' strategy and adhering to the triple bottom line, Novo Nordisk is committed to conducting business activities in a manner that is responsible to the economy, society, and environment. With a clear roadmap from the three-year plan for Greater China, we will continue to implement the concept of recycling, carry out multi-dimensional innovative practices, comprehensively promote green and low-carbon development, and accelerate the achievement of all goals."

Tackling the Severe Challenge of Obesity Requires Multi-Party Collaboration

Obesity is one of the major public health challenges worldwide. Currently, there are over 700 million obese people globally.^[i], and the prevalence rate is still on the rise, bringing a heavy burden of treatment. Obesity is influenced by various factors, including physiological, psychological, environmental, and socio-economic factors, etc., and its harm has not been fully recognized.

At the conference, Novo Nordisk announced data from the global milestone study ACTION teens targeting obese adolescents aged 12-17: 80% of adolescents with obesity have at least one complication when seeking medical treatment; about two-thirds of adolescents believe that weight loss can only depend on themselves; 87% of healthcare professionals have not received any training related to obesity since graduating from medical school.

Driving Change, Joining Hands to Combat Obesity Requires the Collaborative Efforts of Policymakers, the Medical Community, Media, and Other Societal Forces. As a Corporate Entity, Novo Nordisk Continuously Explores the Science of Obesity, Develops Innovative Drugs, and Shares International Best Practices and Experiences Through High-Level Policy Advocacy Platforms Such as the China Development Forum. It Actively Advocates for Including Obesity in the "China Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases" and the "Healthy China Action Plan" to Raise Awareness About Obesity. On a Global Level, Novo Nordisk Partners with UNICEF to Encourage Innovative Solutions for Preventing and Addressing Childhood Overweight and Obesity Issues.

On May 11 this year, World Obesity Day, the "Healthy Cities, Healthy Weight" 2022 Obesity Prevention and Control Campaign, guided by the Office of the Health China Action Promotion Committee, co-organized by multiple parties, and supported by Novo Nordisk China, was launched. The initiative released the "Healthy Weight for Chinese Families Proposal" and established the Obesity Prevention Alliance under the Health China Action. Leaders in the health sector, experts and scholars, and corporate representatives contributed ideas on obesity prevention and control, promoting the establishment of a multi-level, cross-sectoral obesity prevention system. In the future, Novo Nordisk will work with partners from all sectors to make joint efforts to curb the rise in obesity prevalence in China.

^[i] World Obesity Atlas 2022 by the World Obesity Federation