Novo Nordisk Launches 'China Co-Creation' Initiative, Introducing a Novel Clinical Trial Model First in China

Beijing, April 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Novo Nordisk announced the launch of the “China Co-Creation” initiative. This program serves as a practical operational guide to facilitate China’s inclusion in global synchronized clinical trials and achieve simultaneous global submission of new drug applications from clinical trials onward. It aims to accelerate the research, development, and registration of innovative products in China, enabling Chinese patients to benefit simultaneously from global pharmaceutical innovations. Meanwhile, in the fields of academic research and clinical trials, Novo Nordisk has adopted the strategic collaboration center model for the first time, strengthening academic exchanges with Chinese hospitals and jointly enhancing the clinical research capabilities of domestic hospitals.

Thanks to the “China Co-Innovation” initiative, Novo Nordisk will include China in the global simultaneous submission of clinical trial applications for its investigational products for the first time this year. All ongoing and upcoming clinical programs in China are part of the “China Co-Innovation” initiative. By 2021, Novo Nordisk will establish comprehensive strategic partnerships with 20 hospitals across China to jointly develop clinical trial sites.Following the launch of the “China Co-Innovation” initiative, multiple innovative drugs will be accelerated for market approval in China by 2025., after 2025, more than 90% of global innovative drugs will be submitted for approval in China simultaneously -- this marks that the importance of China in Novo Nordisk's global R&D strategy has been elevated to the highest level.

Zhou Xiaping, Senior Vice President of Novo Nordisk and President of Novo Nordisk China, stated, “In the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for both the quality and speed of drug innovation has been growing day by day. We have also witnessed the threats faced by patients with chronic underlying conditions. As a leading biopharmaceutical company with nearly a century of dedication to innovation in chronic disease management, Novo Nordisk feels a stronger sense of mission than ever before. With the deepening healthcare reforms and the continuous improvement of the business environment, the Chinese government has introduced a series of measures to encourage innovation, focus on quality, and enhance efficiency. These initiatives have created highly favorable development opportunities for pharmaceutical companies and boosted the confidence of foreign-invested enterprises in China. We believe that the ‘Co-Creating in China’ initiative will help China better integrate into the global innovation landscape, enabling Chinese patients to benefit from innovative medicines worldwide in real time, while also allowing Chinese wisdom to benefit the world.”

“"Co-Creating China" primarily encompasses two key initiatives: the upgrading and optimization of internal clinical R&D processes, and the collaborative establishment of clinical trial sites with external partners. Notably, China is the first division within Novo Nordisk’s global operations to formally adopt the "Strategic Collaboration Center" model to facilitate the conduct of clinical trials. The selection of the initial batch of Strategic Collaboration Centers is based not only on big data analytics from all clinical trials conducted in China over the past 20 years, but also aligns closely with the tiered diagnosis and treatment system being promoted by the National Health Commission. It is projected that by 2021, Novo Nordisk will establish comprehensive strategic partnerships with 20 hospitals across China, thereby fulfilling the strategic ambitions of its "Win+2025" strategy.

“China has a large population of patients with diabetes and obesity, with dynamically evolving unmet health needs. The ‘China Co-Creation’ initiative not only focuses on chronic disease areas such as diabetes and obesity, but also covers new therapeutic areas including hemophilia, growth disorders, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,” said Zhang Kezhou, Corporate Vice President of Medical Quality at Novo Nordisk Greater China. “We are pleased to see that multiple products have already benefited from this initiative—currently, the once-weekly semaglutide injection for diabetes treatment (marketed overseas under the brand name Ozempic^®) The marketing application in China has been submitted, and the clinical trial application for semaglutide injection (Sema Obesity), which is not yet marketed globally for obesity, has been approved in China.”

“China has always been one of the key strategic R&D markets for Novo Nordisk,” said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Novo Nordisk. “We are delighted to see the ‘Co-Creation in China’ initiative officially launched in China, marking a new chapter in Novo Nordisk’s global innovation strategy—a more open, synchronized, and integrated R&D network that will help us better explore and develop innovative medicines for diabetes and other serious chronic diseases, and deliver them to patients in China and around the world in a shorter time.”

The “China Co-Innovation” project stems from Novo Nordisk’s long-term commitment and strategic presence in the field of chronic diseases. As one of the first multinational pharmaceutical companies to establish a research and development (R&D) center in China, Novo Nordisk has now deployed a comprehensive R&D value chain in the country, encompassing early-stage R&D, the INNOVO open innovation collaboration platform, and clinical research partnerships with academic and scientific institutions. As a globally recognized leader in clinical trials, Novo Nordisk conducted 14 clinical trials in China from 2015 to 2019, enrolling a total of 2,971 patients, with investments reaching RMB 545 million.