Banking on Multiple

Novo Nordisk is the leader of diabetes care in India. It was set up first as the Danish-major Novo Nordiskin A/S representative office in Mumbai in 1990 with Dr Anil Kapur as the head. Till then, its products were marketed in India by various other companies. On April 1st, 1994 Novo Nordisk (I) Pvt. Ltd. was set up with its headquarters in Bangalore with 26 employees. It has now been rechristened as Novo Nordisk India Pvt Limited. Since then the company has grown in stature. Now as an established healthcare company in India, Novo Nordisk markets products in three therapeutic areas-Diabetes care, Growth disorders and Women health.

Novo Nordisk India has launched the first country specific diabetes care informative website- www.novoindia.com.

In 2003-04, its sales from biotechnology products has been estimated at Rs 110 crore. During the same period it has added 200 employees to the rolls.

Novo Nordisk also holds the leading position in areas such as haemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. It manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services. The company is headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.

The company relies on biotechnology in the development of it successful products. These are human insulin, insulin aspart, insulin detemir, growth hormone, FVIIa and glucagon. The company's ability to master protein expression in bacteria, yeast and mammalian cells is complemented by similar cutting edge capabilities within protein drug delivery. The above three sets of competences-research into diabetes, proteins and their delivery form the basis for R&D strategy which aims at providing diabetes care leadership.

The company has a strong product pipeline. Among them, Levemir (insulin detemir) is almost ready to hit the market. This insulin detemir is for Type 1 and 2 diabetes and it is submitted for registration in the US market but it has already received an approvable letter obtained from the US health care authorities. However, it is been approved in EU and Switzerland. And it is in Phase 3 in Japan.

For the Indian market, the company is offering injectable devices for diabetes cure. These are, NovoPen 3, NovoLet and NovoFine. In order to understand the needs of its Indian customers better in each geographical area-North, East, West and South, the company has established regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai respectively.