Novo Nordisk formed in 1989 by merger of two Danish insulin makers
The 1989 merger that created Novo Nordisk turned two rival Danish insulin makers into the world's largest insulin producer — and the same company now sells Ozempic and Wegovy.
In 1989, Novo Industri A/S and Nordisk Gentofte A/S merged to form Novo Nordisk A/S, then the world's largest producer of insulin, headquartered in Bagsværd near Copenhagen [1]. The two companies had been competitors since the mid-1920s [1].
Two Danish rivals become one
Novo Nordisk's roots go back to 1923, when the Danish physiologist August Krogh and his wife Marie learned about insulin during a lecture tour in the United States and met the researchers credited with its discovery: Frederick Banting, John Macleod, Charles Best and James Collip [1]. Krogh received permission to produce insulin in Denmark, and he and Hans Christian Hagedorn began experimenting with ways to extract and purify it from fish and rabbit pancreases [1]. That work, operated as the Insulin Laboratory, was spun off in July 1924 as Nordisk Insulin Laboratorium, together with an associated foundation whose board members were barred from profiting on insulin sales [1].
In 1925, two former Nordisk employees, brothers Harald and Thorvald Pedersen, started a competing company, Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium [1]. The two firms competed until the 1989 merger [1]. By the 1980s Novo had built a US presence through a 1982 joint venture with Squibb Corporation and a Canadian operation in 1984, and in 1985 it introduced Novopen, described as the first insulin pen device [1].
When the 1989 combination closed, the merged company held the position of the world's largest insulin producer [1]. It later demerged Novo Nordisk Engineering, now NNE A/S, in 1991 [1].
Why it matters for patients
A merger completed in 1989 matters today mostly because of what that company became. Novo Nordisk's current product list includes Ozempic and Wegovy, both semaglutide, along with Saxenda and Victoza, and the company says it markets products in 168 countries [1]. The scale of the business is unusual: its market capitalization exceeded the GDP of Denmark in 2023, it is the highest-valued company in Europe, and net sales in 2024 were US$42.121 billion [1]. Novo is controlled by Novo Holdings A/S, which is wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and holds about 28.1% of shares but 77.1% of voting shares [1].
That concentration means the manufacturing, supply and business decisions of one company can affect access to medicines that millions of people take. How the 1989 merger itself changed insulin prices or patient access in the United States has not been reported. Published headcount figures for the company also differ, with one figure above 48,000 employees worldwide and another of 68,794 [1].
What followed
- 1991: Novo Nordisk Engineering, now NNE A/S, was demerged after years as the company's in-house consulting arm [1].
- 2023: Novo's market value surpassed Denmark's domestic GDP, making it the highest-valued company in Europe [1].
- 2024: Net sales reached US$42.121 billion [1].
- 2025: The company reported revenue of 309.1 billion kroner, operating income of 127.7 billion kroner and net income of 102.4 billion kroner [1].
Sources
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