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Novo Resources
Annual Report 2010

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FY2010 Annual Report · Novo Resources
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Financial, social and environmental performance

Key fi gures
2010

Financial performance
Sales total 
Diabetes care 
– of which modern insulins 
Biopharmaceuticals 
Gross profi t 
Gross margin 
Sales and distribution costs 
Research and development costs 
Administrative expenses 
Operating profi t 
Net profi t 
Effective tax rate 
Capital expenditure, net 
Return on equity (ROE) 
Free cash fl ow 

Long-term fi nancial targets
Operating profi t growth 
Operating profi t margin 
Return on invested capital (ROIC) 
Return on invested capital (ROIC) excl non-recurring impact 
from divestment of ZymoGenetics, Inc. in 2010 
Cash to earnings (three-year average) 

Non-fi nancial performance
Donations 
Least developed countries where Novo Nordisk
sells insulin according to the differential pricing policy1 
New patent families (fi rst fi lings) 
Employees (total) 
Employee turnover 
Energy consumption  
Total waste 

Non-fi nancial targets
Maintain a level of engaging culture of 4.0 or above up to 20142 
Diversity in all 28 senior management teams by 20143 
Water consumption: 11% reduction by 2011 compared to 2007 
CO2 emissions: 10% reduction by 2014 compared to 2004 

Share performance
Diluted earnings per share/ADR 
Dividend per share (proposed) 
Closing share price (B shares) 
Market capitalisation (B shares)4 

DKK million 
DKK million 
DKK million 
DKK million 
DKK million 
% of sales 
% of sales 
% of sales 
% of sales 
DKK million 
DKK million 
% 
DKK million 
% 
DKK million 

% 
% 
% 

% 
% 

DKK million 

% 
Number 
Number 
% 
1,000 GJ 
Tons 

Scale 1– 5 
% 
% 
% 

DKK 
DKK 
DKK 
DKK billion 

2010 

2009 

Change

60,776 
45,710 
26,601 
15,066 
49,096 
80.8 
29.9 
15.8 
5.0 
18,891 
14,403 
21.2 
3,308 
39.6 
17,013 

26.5 
31.1 
63.6 

62.4 
115.6 

84 

67 
62 
30,483 
9.1 
2,234 
20,565 

4.3 
54 
(37) 
(55) 

24.60 
10.00 
629 
292 

19.0%
21.9%
23.9%
11.0%
20.8%

26.5%
33.8%

25.7%

38.0%

51,078 
37,502 
21,471 
13,576 
40,640 
79.6 
30.2 
15.4 
5.4 
14,933 
10,768 
23.0 
2,631 
31.3 
12,332 

20.7 
29.2 
47.3 

47.3 
111.5 

83 

1.2%

73 
55 
29,329 
8.3 
2,246 
21,019 

4.3 
50 
(34) 
(31) 

17.82 
7.50 
332 
159 

12.7%
3.9%

(0.5)%
(2.2)%

38.0%
33.3%
89.5%
83.7%

1. Novo Nordisk offers insulin at a price not exceeding 20% of the average western world price to least developed countries as defi ned by the United Nations.
2.  Based on eVoice, an employee survey using a scale of 1–5, with 5 being the best.
3.  Diverse in gender and nationality.
4.  Novo Nordisk B shares (excluding treasury shares).

See more fi nancial and non-fi nancial highlights and non-fi nancial targets on pp 14 –15.

 
 
For nearly 90 years, Novo Nordisk has combined drug discovery with 
technology to turn science into solutions for people with diabetes. 
We also provide treatments for people with haemophilia and growth 
hormone deficiency and for women experiencing the symptoms of 
menopause. We leverage our expertise with protein molecules, 
chronic disease management and device technology to provide 
innovative treatments that make a difference in quality of care.

Novo Nordisk has more than 30,000 employees in 74 countries 
and markets products in about 180 countries. Our B shares are 
listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen and our ADRs are listed on 
the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NVO. For more 
information about our company, visit novonordisk.com.

Since 2004, we have reported on financial, social and environmental 
performance in one integrated report, with both financial and 
non-financial statements. We report additional information online.1 
The most material and business critical information is reported in the 
annual report. Information for specific stakeholder groups is reported 
at annualreport2010.novonordisk.com. We value feedback and 
welcome questions or comments about this report or our 
performance at annualreport@novonordisk.com.

2  Our 2010 accomplishments

and results
2  Letter from the Chairman
3  Letter from the CEO
5  Valuing therapeutic innovation
6  Performance in 2010

11  Outlook 2011
12  Managing performance using long-term targets
14  Performance highlights

  16 Our business
17  Strategic focus areas
19  Delivering on our strategy
21  Creating long-term value
22  The Novo Nordisk Way
24  Pipeline overview
26  Novo Nordisk at a glance

  28 Diabetes care
29  Modern insulin portfolio
31  Victoza®: innovative early treatment
31  Changing Diabetes®
31  Expanding access to care
32  Public awareness and action
34  Prevention and early detection
35  Improvements in diabetes care

  36 Biopharmaceuticals
37  Commitment to haemophilia
37  Changing Possibilities in Haemophilia®
38  Expanding access to care
39  Other therapy areas
39  Recruitment for clinical trials

  40  Corporate governance, 

remuneration and leadership

40  Corporate governance
43  Risk management
46  Remuneration report
50  Board of Directors
53  Executive Management

  54 Shares and capital structure

  57  Consolidated financial and 

non-financial statements 2010

58  Consolidated financial statements
93  Supplementary information

    93  Consolidated non-financial statement
  100  Summary of financial data 2006–2010 in EUR
  101  Quarterly financial figures 2009 and 2010

102  Financial statements of the Parent company

109  Management’s statement
110  Auditor’s reports

  112 Additional information

1.  This public filing contains references and links to information posted on the company’s

website; such information is not incorporated by reference into the public filing.

112  Index
113  Our products

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     1

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Letter
from the
Chairman

Sten Scheibye
Chairman of the Board of Directors 

The world economy was on the mend in 2010. Much of the rebound 
has been due to strong fiscal stimulus provided by governments, 
which has put pressure on public budgets, particularly in Europe and 
the US. This may in due course put further pressure on the already 
strained healthcare environment in these parts of the world. 
Economic growth has been maintained in emerging markets, 
and many of these countries are investing  in improved services, 
including healthcare.

As part of the global response to the recent financial crisis, efforts 
have been made to improve corporate governance systems and 
make companies more transparent. In Denmark, new corporate 
governance recommendations were introduced in early 2010. 
While Novo Nordisk’s practices are in accordance with the majority 
of the new recommendations, the company’s remuneration 
principles have been revised to ensure that long-term management 
incentives and shareholder interests remain aligned, and these 
will be presented to the 2011 Annual General Meeting for approval. 
The proposed remuneration principles include incentive guidelines 
and introduce claw-back provisions allowing Novo Nordisk to 
recover variable remuneration paid on the basis of data that is 
subsequently determined to be misstated.

2     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

The Board of Directors oversees the strategic direction of the 
company, and in this capacity we have approved new long-term 
financial targets. The business and competitive environment has 
been quite favourable for Novo Nordisk recently, as have exchange 
rates, allowing the company to achieve the previous targets in an 
unusually short time frame.

In recognition of Novo Nordisk’s strong balance sheet, sustainable 
significant cash flow and the Board’s confidence in the strategic 
direction and long-term prospects for the business, we have 
consistently increased the dividend paid over the last five years. 
During 2010, dividends paid to Novo Nordisk shareholders increased 
by 25% to 7.50 Danish kroner per share. The proposed dividend 
for 2011 is up 33% to 10.00 Danish kroner per share. Also in 2010 
Novo Nordisk repurchased shares worth 9.5 billion Danish kroner 
in 2010, helped by the 1.1 billion kroner profit from sale of shares 
in ZymoGenetics, Inc. In continuation of this, Novo Nordisk intends 
to buy back 10 billion kroner worth of shares in 2011.

As Novo Nordisk marks its 10th year as a focused pharmaceutical 
company, the Board would like to express its appreciation of the 
leadership shown by President and CEO Lars Rebien Sørensen and 
the Executive Management team. On behalf of the Board, I would 
also like to thank all Novo Nordisk employees around the world for 
their contribution to what has been an outstanding year.

Sten Scheibye
Chairman of the Board of Directors

 
 
 
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Letter
from
the CEO

Lars Rebien Sørensen
President and chief executive officer

Novo Nordisk continued to deliver on our commitment to improve 
the lives of people with diabetes and other chronic diseases during 
2010, with very positive performance for the year. 

related to the development of innovative new treatments for 
haemophilia, and continued our build-up of a robust pipeline of 
therapies for chronic inflammatory diseases.

As the global leader in diabetes care, with 51% of the insulin 
market measured by volume, the success of our core business is 
linked to innovations and improvements in global diabetes care. 

•   Our strong sales growth has been driven by sales of our modern 
insulins, particularly in North America and our International 
Operations region, and by Victoza®.

•   Modern insulins accounted for close to 70% of our total insulin 
sales in 2010. These therapies have the potential to improve 
glucose control compared with human insulins, lowering the 
risk of hypoglycemia. 

We achieved the long-term financial targets we set in our 2008 
Annual Report with growth in operating profit of 27%. Sales 
increased by 19% in Danish kroner and 13% measured in local 
currencies. Our diabetes care sales increased 22% in 2010, while 
sales of our biopharmaceutical products increased 11%, both 
measured in kroner.

•   Victoza®, our new Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 treatment, which 
is an analogue of the naturally occurring hormone involved in 
glucose regulation, has expanded the market for GLP-1 treatment. 
Victoza® is used for treating type 2 diabetes when oral antidiabetic 
therapy will no longer suffice, offering another option for 
managing this progressive disease at early stages. 

Uncertainties in early 2010, such as the pending approval of Victoza® 
and the potential for generic competition to our oral antidiabetic 
agent Prandin® in the US, made us cautious from the beginning 
of the year. Victoza® was approved in the US in January 2010 and 
the launch came off to a very good start, while Prandin® remained 
uncontested in the US throughout the year. This, combined with 
our strong business performance, allowed us to exceed our 
expectations for 2010.

We saw tremendous progress in 2010 in our development pipeline, 
with positive results from phase 3 trials for our next-generation 
insulins, Degludec (insulin degludec) and DegludecPlus (insulin 
degludec/insulin aspart). We also achieved significant milestones 

•   We have continued our efforts to improve access to care through-
out the world, donating a portion of income from our net insulin 
sales to the World Diabetes Foundation and supporting 
improvements in the ability of healthcare systems to diagnose 
and treat diabetes.

•   As part of our Changing Diabetes ® in Children programme, we 
established 13 new clinics to improve diagnosis and treatment 
of children with type 1 diabetes in developing countries.

Our manufacturing organisation reached a very ambitious milestone, 
increasing productivity to the extent that our cost of goods sold 
in 2010 fell to less than 20% of the sales volume. As the efficiency 

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     3

 
 
 
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of our production activities has increased, we have also reduced 
our environmental impact. We reduced energy and water consumed 
for production activities during the year and CO2 emissions from 
energy consumption fell 35% compared with 2009 levels. 

•   We are anticipating a continued successful roll-out of Victoza® 
worldwide as well as continued market penetration of our 
portfolio of modern insulins.

•   Finally, we will continue to pursue further productivity 

improvements throughout our organisation.

Succeeding in these areas requires that we attract, retain and 
engage the most talented people to support global growth and as 
well as continuously improving our ability to manage innovation.

I want to thank everyone at Novo Nordisk for their contributions 
to our success. With the capabilities of our talented employees 
around the world, I believe 2011 will be yet another successful 
year for Novo Nordisk, one with significant growth and continued 
innovation for the benefit of all of our stakeholders.

Lars Rebien Sørensen
President and chief executive officer

Pursuing new ambitions 
Ten years ago, when I was first appointed CEO, I went on an 
educational journey to study what our customers, employees 
and other stakeholders expected from our company. This led 
to the establishment of our values-based management system 
called the Novo Nordisk Way of Management.

I made this journey again in 2010 and was pleased to find that 
despite having tripled our workforce and sales and becoming 
a much more global business over the past decade, the values 
expressed in the Novo Nordisk Way of Management are more 
ingrained than ever. In the words of our people, we are continuing 
to manage our business in a responsible and sustainable way, with 
a focus not only on improving the company’s finances but also on 
improving our social and environmental performance.

Part of the Novo Nordisk Way of Management framework has been 
our vision to become the world’s leading diabetes care company. 
I am proud to report that we have realised this vision and are 
introducing a new set of milestones reflecting the challenges of 
the next decade. As part of our 2010 update of what is now called 
the Novo Nordisk Way, we are now focusing on strengthening our 
leadership in diabetes and aspiring to change possibilities in 
haemophilia and other serious chronic conditions where we can 
make a difference.

What has not changed is our dedication to achieving good business 
results in a responsible way. Our newly updated values-based 
management system holds all employees accountable for working 
in accordance with our principles and provides concise, clear 
guidance on how we work. The update is the outcome of an 
extensive, inclusive process involving consultation of employees 
from all over the world, patient organisations, healthcare providers 
and other stakeholders.

Preparing for future growth
In 2011, we will work to solidify our leadership in diabetes care 
and expand into new markets and therapy areas. Our future 
success will depend on our performance in a number of key areas:

•   We expect to file for regulatory approval of Degludec (insulin 
degludec) and DegludecPlus (insulin degludec/insulin aspart) 
this year.

•   We are exploring entry into the obesity market, following the 
first phase 3 clinical results for liraglutide in obesity, which 
demonstrated weight loss in people with severe obesity and 
other co-morbidities.

•   We will initiate phase 3 trials for a fixed combination of Degludec 
(insulin degludec) and Victoza® which may offer the benefits of 
both compounds in a fixed, convenient solution.

•   We will initiate the final clinical and regulatory studies for a new 

recombinant factor VIIa analogue to treat people with 
haemophilia who have developed inhibitors. This new analogue 
offers the possibility of forming even stronger clots in less time.

4     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
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Valuing
therapeutic 
innovation

Interview with Lars Rebien Sørensen,
Novo Nordisk’s chief executive officer

What are the benefits of therapeutic innovations?
The research-based pharmaceutical industry’s continued efforts 
to discover new therapeutic offers are intended to benefit 
patients as well as society. In our field of business, we have 
seen how treatment of diabetes has improved dramatically 
since insulin was discovered nearly 90 years ago. Through 
a combination of incremental development and more radical 
breakthroughs, significant improvements have been achieved 
over just one generation, enabling people with diabetes to 
lead their lives in full and achieve a normal life expectancy. 

Improvements have been made possible because products were 
priced in a way that allows for reinvestment into research in new 
products. Our modern insulins are now widely available, and
the improvements they entail will have a cumulative impact on 
chronic disease treatment over decades. In our view, innovations 
will eventually benefit all people with diabetes.

Our diabetes care portfolio today includes human insulins 
as well as modern insulins, which makes it possible for Novo 
Nordisk to offer life-saving treatments at affordable prices 
and continue to improve treatment regimes that meet individual 
needs. Our goal is to develop the best diabetes care portfolio 
for healthcare systems in all parts of the world.

What do you consider to be reasonable price
levels for new pharmaceutical products? 
The price of a new therapeutic treatment reflects the clinical 
benefit as well as the societal value of the therapeutic 
innovation, but also takes into account the cost of innovation. 
If pharmaceutical companies cannot recoup their investments 
in research and development, the business of pharmaceutical 
innovation will not be sustainable. And in the long run it would 
be patients who would pay the price.

To conduct business responsibly, we have to be profitable and 
provide economically viable solutions. For example, Novo 
Nordisk’s newest product, Victoza®, was in development for 
nearly two decades. When planning development projects, 
we know we must finance larger and more complex trials 
over longer and longer trial periods before we can hope to 
receive product approval.

How should innovation be valued?
Ideally, a product would be priced on the basis of an assessment 
of its benefits in a real world setting. Today, this is not the 
case. It is difficult to get sufficient information about the 
relative treatment benefit before a new product is launched. 
Allowing for conditional pricing when new products are 
launched would be an option to ensure that the price is 
right based on clinical utility and benefits to the patients. 
In such a pricing model, prices for new therapies could be 

subsequently increased or decreased based on efficacy 
when compared with other treatment options. 

What role does pricing play for Novo Nordisk
in terms of ensuring availability of treatment?
When looking at the full impact of diabetes on healthcare 
budgets, the price of diabetes treatment is a fraction of that. 
The most costly part of diabetes lies with the late-stage 
complications that require hospitalisation, costly interventions 
and leave people incapacitated for longer periods of time. 
That said, we do recognise that availability and affordability of 
medicines are preconditions for expanding access to health care. 
Our premise is that access to essential medicines is a human 
right, and we acknowledge our responsibility in addressing the 
barriers for proper diagnosis, treatment and care.

In the world’s poorest countries, as defined by the United 
Nations, we sell human insulin through our long-standing 
differential pricing policy, offering products at a price not 
more than 20% of the average prices in the western world. 

In other countries, we market the full Novo Nordisk portfolio 
of insulins with the goal of reaching the majority of patients 
with diabetes with a product mix of human and modern insulins 
and a range of devices to suit the affordability levels of both 
public and private customers as well as patients who may pay 
out of pocket.

Why does Novo Nordisk remove products from the market? 
We make every effort to ensure that life-saving medicines are 
available to patients. This year, as several governments in Europe 
mandated price cuts to address their economic problems, we 
faced dilemmas between operating profitably and continuing 
to serve people who rely on our products. 

In May 2010, the Greek government announced temporary 
price cuts of up to 27%. As a consequence, we made a decision 
to temporarily withdraw some products from the Greek market, 
but we continued to offer human insulin in vials. 

In a situation like this, there is a major dilemma for a company 
like ours. The proposed price reductions for patented products 
would not have allowed us to continue running a profitable 
business in Greece. In the long term, if we cannot maintain 
profitability, we will be unable to continue to provide and 
improve treatment for the people who most need it. While 
pricing issues remain unresolved in Greece, we have been able 
to continue to offer our broad portfolio of products, including 
modern insulins, with Penfill® cartridges in the NovoPen® 4 
device.

How should governments assess the value of treatment?
We understand the budget constraints governments are 
facing. Medical costs can be an easy target in times of tough 
political choices. While there may be short-term savings, the 
cost to society can be greater over a longer time frame. The 
cost of treatment is usually a small fraction of overall 
spending on diabetes care, with most spending allocated to 
treat serious complications related to inadequate medical 
care. In the US and Europe, for instance, insulin accounts for 
3% of the total costs associated with treating diabetes.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     5

 
 
 
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Performance in 2010

2010 was another successful year for Novo Nordisk with achieve-
ment of long-term financial targets set in the 2008 Annual Report, 
strong sales growth, continued improvement in gross margin 
and very significant progress in the clinical development pipeline. 
Following the initial 2009 launch of Victoza®, the first once-daily 
human GLP-1 analogue, the roll-out has succeeded in expanding 
the market for GLP-1 treatment.

Sales increased by 19% in Danish kroner and by 13% measured 
in local currencies. Sales growth was realised in both diabetes care 
and biopharmaceuticals. Victoza® and modern insulins were the 
main contributors to growth, with modern insulin sales increasing 
by 24% (18% in local currencies). NovoSeven® and Norditropin® 
sales also contributed to the strong sales growth, increasing by 14% 
(8% in local currencies) and 9% (4% in local currencies) respectively.

Sales growth was realised in all regions. Sales in North America 
increased by 29% and International Operations by 24% in Danish 
kroner, and by 22% and 15% respectively in local currencies. 

Managing our business according to the Triple Bottom Line business 
principle helps ensure that decisions are balanced and take a long-
term view, with the objective of protecting and enhancing 
shareholder value while at the same time creating societal value. 
In addition to strong financial performance, in 2010 we met 
long-term targets relating to employee engagement and adherence 
to our values and exceeded long-term targets for reduction of 
energy and water consumption and CO2 emissions.

Financial performance
Diabetes care
We continue to be the global leader in the diabetes care market 
with 51% of the total insulin market and 46% of the modern insulin 
market, both measured by volume. Sales of diabetes care products 
increased by 22% measured in Danish kroner to DKK 45,710 million 
and by 16% in local currencies compared with 2009.

Modern insulins, human insulins
and protein-related products
In 2010, sales of modern insulins, human insulins and protein-
related products increased by 17% in Danish kroner to DKK 
40,642 million and by 11% measured in local currencies compared 
with 2009, with North America and International Operations 
having the highest growth rates. 

Our portfolio of modern insulins was the main contributor to growth 
with sales increasing by 24% in Danish kroner to DKK 26,601 million 
and by 18% in local currencies compared with 2009, reflecting 
steady organic sales growth globally. All regions realised solid 
growth rates, with North America accounting for more than half 
of the growth, followed by International Operations and Europe. 
Sales of modern insulins now constitute nearly 70% of Novo 
Nordisk’s insulin sales.

North America
Sales in North America increased by 26% in Danish kroner and by 
19% in local currencies in 2010, reflecting a continued solid market 
penetration of the modern insulins, Levemir®, NovoLog® and 
NovoLog® Mix 70/30. Novo Nordisk maintains its leadership position 
in the US insulin market with 42% of the total insulin market and 
37% of the modern insulin market, both measured in volume. 
Currently, around 43% of Novo Nordisk’s modern insulin volume 
in the US is being sold in the prefilled device FlexPen®. 

Europe
Sales in Europe increased by 4% measured in Danish kroner and 
by 2% in local currencies in 2010, reflecting continued progress 
for the portfolio of modern insulins and declining human insulin 
sales. Novo Nordisk holds 53% of the total insulin market and 51% 
of the modern insulin market, both measured in volume. Device 
penetration in Europe remains high with more than 95% of Novo 
Nordisk’s insulin volume being used in devices, primarily NovoPen® 
and FlexPen®. 

International Operations
Sales in International Operations increased by 26% in Danish kroner 
and by 17% in local currencies in 2010. The main contributor to 
growth was sales of modern insulins, primarily in China. Sales of 
human insulins continue to add to overall growth in the region, also 
driven by China. As of 1 January 2011, a fifth Novo Nordisk region, 
Region China, has been established comprising China, Taiwan and 
Hong Kong; therefore, these countries are no longer part of 
‘International Operations’. In China, Novo Nordisk currently holds 
63% of the total insulin market and 70% of the modern insulin 
market, both measured in volume.

DKK billion

Sales by
geographical area

■ Europe
■ North America
■ International Operations

incl China
■ Japan & Korea

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

60.8

51.1

45.6

41.8

38.7

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70

DKK billion

Sales by therapy area

■ Diabetes care
■ Haemostasis management

(NovoSeven®)

■ Growth hormone therapy
■ Hormone replacement

therapy (HRT)
■ Other products

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

60.8

51.1

45.6

41.8

38.7  

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Sales growth 
Local and reported rates

In DKK as reported
In local currencies

%

25

20

15

10

5

0

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

6     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Japan & Korea
Sales in Japan & Korea increased by 10% measured in Danish 
kroner and decreased by 2% in local currencies in 2010. The 
sales development reflects sales growth for all three modern 
insulins, Levemir®, NovoRapid® and NovoRapid Mix® 30, offset 
by a decline in human insulin sales. In a continuously challenging 
competitive environment, Novo Nordisk now holds 63% of the 
total insulin market in Japan and 56% of the modern insulin 
market. Device penetration in Japan remains high with more 
than 98% of Novo Nordisk’s insulin volume being used in devices, 
primarily NovoPen® and FlexPen®.

Victoza® (GLP-1 therapy for type 2 diabetes)
Victoza® sales reached DKK 2,317 million during 2010 reflecting 
solid market performance in both Europe and the US. The global 
launch has continued throughout 2010, most recently in Russia, 
Argentina, Mexico and four countries in the Middle East. The market 
performance globally has been encouraging in 2010 with Victoza® 
reaching solid market shares in the GLP-1 segment as well as 
significantly increasing the GLP-1 class’s share of the total diabetes 
care market. 

NovoNorm®/Prandin®/PrandiMet®
(Oral antidiabetic products)
In 2010, sales of oral antidiabetic products increased by 4% in Danish 
kroner to DKK 2,751 million and decreased by 1% measured in local 
currencies compared with 2009. The sales development reflects 
sales growth in China being offset by lower sales in Europe due 
to generic competition in several European markets, with the main 
impact in Germany.

Insulin volume
market share 
Geographical areas

  Europe
  North America

International Operations
Japan & Korea

Modern insulins 
Global value market 
share of segment

  NovoRapid®
  NovoMix®
  Levemir®

%

100

80

60

40

20

0

%

100

80

60

40

20

0

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Research & 
development costs

■  Diabetes care

(excl pulmonary
  diabetes projects)
■  Biopharmaceuticals

DKK billion

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

9.6

7.9

7.5

7.2

6.3

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Biopharmaceuticals

In 2010, sales of biopharmaceutical products increased by 11% 
measured in Danish kroner to DKK 15,066 million and by 5% 
measured in local currencies compared with 2009. 

NovoSeven® (Bleeding disorders therapy)
Sales of NovoSeven® increased by 14% in Danish kroner to DKK 
8,030 million and by 8% in local currencies compared with 2009. 
Sales growth for NovoSeven® was primarily realised in North 
America, but Japan & Korea and International Operations also 
contributed to the growth.

Norditropin® (Growth hormone therapy)
Sales of Norditropin® increased by 9% measured in Danish kroner 
to DKK 4,803 million and by 4% measured in local currencies 
compared with 2009. Novo Nordisk is the second-largest company 
in the global growth hormone market with a 24% market share 
measured in volume.

Other products 
Sales of other products within biopharmaceuticals, which pre  -
dominantly consist of hormone replacement therapy related 
products, increased by 6% in Danish kroner to DKK 2,233 million 
and decreased by 1% measured in local currencies. This develop-
ment primarily reflects continued sales progress for Vagifem® 
being partly offset by generic competition to Activella® in the US. 

Development in cost
and operating profit
The cost of goods sold was DKK 11,680 million in 2010, reflecting 
a gross margin of 80.8% compared with 79.6% in 2009. This 
im prove ment primarily reflects a favourable product mix impact 
due to increased sales of modern insulins and Victoza® and a positive 
0.4 percentage point currency impact. 

In 2010, total non-production-related costs increased by 18% to DKK 
30,862 million and by 14% in local currencies compared with 2009. 

Sales and distribution costs increased by 18% to DKK 18,195 million, 
primarily reflecting the launch costs of Victoza® in Europe and the 
US, as well as a continued expansion of the field sales forces in 
Europe, Japan, China and the US, and an increase in the provision 
level for legal cases.

Research and development costs increased by 22% to DKK 9,602 
million, primarily reflecting the ongoing phase 3 programme for the 
company’s next generation of insulins, Degludec1 (insulin degludec) 
and DegludecPlus2 (insulin degludec/insulin aspart).

Licence fees and other operating income constituted DKK 657 million 
in 2010 compared with DKK 341 million in 2009. This development 
primarily reflects a sustainable higher level of licence fees as well as 
non-recurring income of approximately DKK 100 million related to 
a patent settlement during the first quarter of 2010.

Operating profit in 2010 increased by 27% to DKK 18,891 million 
compared with 2009. In local currencies the growth was approx-
ima tely 16%.

0

2

4

6

8

10

1.  Internal designation for insulin degludec.
2.  Internal designation for insulin degludec/insulin aspart.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     7

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Net financials and tax

Equity

Net financials showed a net expense of DKK 605 million in 2010 
compared with a net expense of DKK 945 million in 2009. For 
2010, the foreign exchange result was an expense of DKK 1,341 
million compared with an expense of DKK 751 million in 2009. 
This development reflects losses on foreign exchange hedging, 
particularly of US dollars due to the appreciation versus Danish 
kroner in 2010 compared with the exchange rate level prevailing 
in 2009. 

Also included in net financials is the result from associated 
companies with an income of DKK 1,070 million. In 2009, the result 
from associated companies was an expense of DKK 55 million. In 
the fourth quarter of 2010, Novo Nordisk recorded non-recurring 
income of approximately DKK 1.1 billion from the sale of shares in 
ZymoGenetics, Inc. as announced on 8 October 2010.

The realised effective tax rate for 2010 was 21.2%. The effective 
tax rate for 2010 is lowered by a non-recurring effect of approx-
imately 1.5 percentage points from the divestment of Novo 
Nordisk’s ownership share of ZymoGenetics, Inc., the income from 
which is exempt from tax charges under applicable Danish tax laws. 

Capital expenditure
and free cash flow
Net capital expenditure for property, plant and equipment for 
2010 was DKK 3.3 billion compared with DKK 2.6 billion in 2009. 
The main investment projects in 2010 were the insulin filling plant 
in Tianjin, China, and new device manufacturing lines in Denmark. 

Free cash flow for 2010 was DKK 17.0 billion compared with 
DKK 12.3 billion in 2009. The higher cash flow is driven by higher 
operating profit and the non-recurring proceeds from the 
divestment of ZymoGenetics, Inc.

Gross margin

  Development

in gross margin

%

85

80

75

70

65

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Months

US dollar and
Japanese yen
Cover and exchange rate

■  Cover USD (left)
■  Cover JPY (left)
  Rate USD (right)
  Rate JPY per 100 (right)

25

20

15

10

5

0

Rate

7.00

6.50

6.00

5.50

5.00

12/06  12/07  12/08  12/09  12/10 

8     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

Total equity was DKK 36,965 million at the end of 2010, equivalent 
to 60% of total assets, compared with 65% at the end of 2009. 

Treasury shares and 2010
share repurchase programme
During 2010 Novo Nordisk repurchased 19,534,528 shares at an 
average price of DKK 486 per share, equivalent to a cash value of 
DKK 9.5 billion. Novo Nordisk thereby concluded the previously 
announced 2010 share repurchase programme.

Employee share programmes in 2010
Employees in Denmark have participated in two general employee 
share programmes in 2010. Approximately 8,000 employees have 
purchased 262,000 shares under a share save programme. The 
shares were purchased at a price of DKK 583.16. There are no 
costs to the company for this programme. Approximately 
11,000 employees have purchased 567,000 shares at a price of 
DKK 275. The costs of this programme, DKK 192 million, were fully 
expensed in 2010.

Furthermore, approximately 15,000 international employees have 
been awarded approximately 273,000 stock options in 2010, and 
the cost of these, DKK 150 million, will be amortised over a 3-year 
vesting period.

Holding of treasury shares
and reduction of share capital
As per 1 February 2011, Novo Nordisk A/S and its wholly owned 
affiliates owned 28,206,755 of its own B shares, corresponding 
to 4.7% of the total share capital.

In order to maintain capital structure flexibility, the Board of Directors 
at the Annual General Meeting in 2011 will propose a reduction in 
the B share capital from DKK 492,512,800 to DKK 472,512,800 by 
cancelling 20,000,000 B shares of DKK 1 from the company’s own 
holding of B shares at a nominal value of DKK 20,000,000, 
equivalent to 3.3% of the total share capital. After implementation 
of the share capital reduction, the company’s share capital will 
amount to DKK 580,000,000 divided into an A share capital of DKK 
107,487,200 and a B share capital of DKK 472,512,800.

Proposed dividend and 2011
share repurchase programme
At the Annual General Meeting on 23 March 2011, the Board of 
Directors will propose a 33% increase in dividend to DKK 10.00 per 
share of DKK 1, corresponding to a pay-out ratio of 39.6%, 
compared with 40.9% for the financial year 2009. Adjusting for the 
effect of the ZymoGenetics, Inc. share divestment, where the 
increased cash flow was returned to shareholders via an expansion 
of the 2010 share repurchase programme, the pay-out ratio is 42.8%. 
No dividend will be paid on the company’s holding of treasury shares.

The Board of Directors has approved a new DKK 10 billion share 
repurchase programme to be executed during 2011. Novo Nordisk 
will initiate its share repurchase programme in accordance with the 
provisions of the European Commission’s Regulation No. 2273/2003 
of 22 December 2003 (The Safe Harbour Regulation). For that 
purpose Novo Nordisk has appointed J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd. as 
lead manager to execute a part of its share repurchase programme 
independently and without influence from Novo Nordisk. The 
purpose of the programme is to reduce the company’s share capital. 
Under the agreement, J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd. will repurchase 
shares on behalf of Novo Nordisk for an amount of up to DKK 2.0 

 
 
 
 
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billion during the trading period starting 2 February and ending on 
26 April 2011. A maximum of 155,151 shares can be bought during 
one single trading day, equal to 20% of the average daily trading 
volume of Novo Nordisk B shares on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen 
during the month of January 2011, and a maximum of 8,843,607 
shares in total can be bought during the trading period. At least once 
every seven trading days, Novo Nordisk will issue an announcement 
in respect of the transactions made under the repurchase programme.

Non-financial 
performance

The company’s long-term non-financial targets support efforts to 
maximise positive social impact by improving access to and quality 
of care, attracting and retaining employees and effectively 
managing resources to minimise environmental impacts. Adoption 
of our long-established differential pricing policy, a measure of our 
progress to expand access to diabetes care, continued. During 2010, 
we met non-financial targets related to employee engagement and 
adherence to the Novo Nordisk Way and made progress towards 
the target of diversity in all senior management teams. Performance 
on environmental dimensions improved and we successfully 
exceeded targets for reduction of energy consumption, water 
con sumption and CO2 emissions.

Social
We actively manage three dimensions of social performance: 
improving care for people whose healthcare needs we serve; 
developing our employees and ensuring a healthy and safe work 
environment; and making a positive contribution to the communities 
in which we operate.

Patients
Clinical trials
The number of people participating in Novo Nordisk’s clinical trials 
increased by 74% in 2010. Due to the phase 3 trials for Degludec 
and DegludecPlus, which involve more than 9,000 people, 19,361 
people participated in Novo Nordisk’s clinical trials in 2010, 
compared with 11,130 in 2009.

Access to care
Novo Nordisk’s long-term efforts to expand access to care and 
treatment include the establishment of the World Diabetes 
Foundation in 2001. In 2010, the company donated DKK 69 million 
to the foundation, which supports sustainable initiatives to build 
healthcare capacity to prevent and treat diabetes in developing 
countries. This donation, equivalent to 0.18% of net insulin sales 
for the year, was in accordance with obligations previously agreed 
to by the company’s shareholders.

Novo Nordisk also supports the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foun-
dation, established in 2005. In 2010, we donated DKK 15 million. 
For more information on the foundations, see pp 32 and 38.

Pricing
Purchases through Novo Nordisk’s long-established differential 
pricing policy for insulin sales in least developed countries increased 
by 30% by volume compared to 2009. Our goal is for our differential 
pricing policy to be accepted in all least developed countries. We 
sold human insulin at or below the policy price, not to exceed 

20% of the average prices in the western world, in 67% or 33 of 
49 least developed countries during 2010.

Capacity building
Developing healthcare infrastructure to improve the ability to 
diagnose and treat diabetes is key to achieving sustainable improve-
ments in access to care and personal health. Over the years, our 
investments in training and education of healthcare professionals 
have been significantly scaled up. Since 2002, a total of 1.2 million 
healthcare professionals worldwide have attended training 
pro grammes conducted or sponsored by Novo Nordisk. During 
2010, we also reached out to nearly 500,000 people with diabetes, 
providing training on how to manage their condition.

In addition to enrolling about 800 children with type 1 diabetes 
in our Changing Diabetes® in Children programme during 2010, 
taking the total to more than 1,300, we trained about 100 health-
care providers and established 13 clinics. The programme supports 
diagnosis and treatment of children in developing countries, 
par ti cularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Employees
Our global growth continued as projected, with new employees 
primarily added in International Operations and North America. 
At the end of 2010, the total number of employees was 30,483, 
which corresponds to 30,014 full-time positions. The total number 
of employees increased by 4%. In the same period, employee 
turnover increased from 8.3% to 9.1%.

Engagement
The ability to manage global growth and stimulate productivity and 
innovation is tracked through a set of engagement scores from our 
annual employee survey, eVoice. In 2010, the consolidated engage-
ment score (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score) was 
4.3, which was consistent with 2009. Annual scores have 
con sistently met our target of 4.0 or above since 2006.

Diversity
We believe diverse management teams and people with different 
perspectives are best suited to drive performance and foster 
innovative thinking. Our ambition is that by 2014 all senior 
management teams will include employees of both genders and 
different nationalities.

At the end of 2010, diversity in terms of gender and nationality 
was reflected in 54% of the 28 senior management teams, 
compared with 50% at the end of 2009. While we have chosen 
to report on our progress annually, changing our organisational 
culture is a long-term objective that involves training and mentoring, 
talent management and succession planning.

1,000 full-time positions

Full-time positions 
Geographical areas

■ Europe
■ North America
■ International Operations
■ Japan & Korea

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

30.5

29.3

27.1

26.0

23.6

0

5

10 15 20 25 30 35

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     9

 
 
 
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As a large employer in Denmark, Novo Nordisk has subscribed to 
the Ministry of Equality's recommendations for more women on 
supervisory boards. The company is thus committed to targeted 
efforts to develop and recruit female managers.

Health and safety
The frequency of occupational injuries increased to 4.9 per million 
working hours in 2010, compared with 4.3 per million working 
hours in the previous year.

Assurance
Quality
As sales and production output have increased, quality levels, 
measured in terms of inspection findings, have been maintained. 
In 2010, 105 inspections of Novo Nordisk’s production facilities were 
concluded with no re-inspections or warning letters.

In 2010, Novo Nordisk had four instances of product recalls from 
the market, compared with two recalls in 2009. Recalls during 2010 
were for Norditropin NordiFlex® 15 mg (Switzerland), Mixtard® 30 
InnoLet® 100 IU/ml (several countries), and two separate recalls of 
our emergency kit for treating severe hypoglycaemia, GlucaGen® 
Hypokit (Canada, New Zealand and Denmark). We cooperated with 
local health authorities to ensure appropriate information was 
pro vided to pharmacies, medical practitioners and patients.

Values
The Novo Nordisk Way, our values-based approach to management, 
outlines expectations for employee behaviour, and adherence to 
the corporate values is audited as part of our ongoing internal 
assurance process. Values audits, called facilitations, are conducted 
by our global facilitator team, consisting of senior people with deep 
understanding of our business and the business environment.

From 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010, 58 facilitations were 
conducted at unit level, covering more than 12,000 employees. 
More than 2,800 employees were interviewed to determine how 
corporate values are being complied with throughout the 
organisation. To maintain a high level of compliance, 225 findings 
were issued during the 2010 facilitation year.

Business ethics
As we grow, adding close to 4,000 new employees annually, 
ongoing training helps ensure that all new employees understand 
their responsibilities and the company’s values-based management 
system. Training programmes are developed to address emerging 
trends, such as changes in the regulatory environment. Annual 
business ethics training is required for all employees throughout 
the company. In total, 98% completed the required training in 2010.

Business ethics audits are conducted using a risk-based approach, 
with on-site interviews and documentation reviews to assess 
compliance with Novo Nordisk’s business ethics procedures. During 
2010, 35 business ethics audits were conducted and 200 findings 
were issued and agreed with local management.

Our employees have an obligation to report any instances of 
suspected misconduct. This obligation can be met by reporting 
to a manager or company legal counsel. Novo Nordisk also provides 
the option to report suspected business ethics misconduct anon-
ymously through a compliance hotline monitored by the Audit 
Committee. During 2010, 15 cases of suspected business ethics 
misconduct were reported through the compliance hotline. These 
have been investigated and three of them have been substantiated 

10     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

and have been determined to have no material impact for Novo 
Nordisk. Consequences for employees involved in substantiated 
cases ranged from counselling and training to written warnings 
and have been determined to have no material impact for Novo 
Nordisk.

Supplier audits
To ensure product quality and manage potential risks in our supply 
chain, we conduct both quality and responsible sourcing audits. 
In 2010, a total of 192 audits were conducted, compared with 196 
in 2009. These audits resulted in 539 non-conformities. Follow-
up actions for these are being performed according to Novo Nordisk 
procedures.

Environment
Performance on environmental dimensions improved and we 
successfully exceeded long-term targets for reduction of energy 
consumption, water consumption and CO2 emissions.

Water and energy consumption for production decreased in 2010 
by 37% and 20% respectively compared with the 2007 baseline. 
These reductions surpassed the long-term targets of 11% reductions 
in both areas by 2011 compared to 2007. Consumption decreases 
were mainly due to optimisations in insulin bulk production in 
Denmark. Energy and water-saving projects at many other sites also 
contributed.

The total volume of waste decreased 2% to 20,565 tons in 2010 
from 21,019 tons in 2009, while the percentage of recycled waste 
remained stable at 50%. The decrease in waste was primarily due 
to a 12% reduction in hazardous waste disposal.

While sales and production increased in 2010, CO2 emissions related 
to production fell by 35% compared with 2009 levels. This was due 
to the full conversion to renewable power supplies for Danish 
operations, including energy-intensive insulin production, and 
increased energy efficiency in all production facilities globally.

DKK billion

1,000 m3

Total water
consumption

  Sales (left)
  Water used at all

production sites (right)

70

60

50

40

30

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

DKK billion

1,000 tons

Climate strategy
impact

  Sales (left)
  CO2 emissions (right)

70

60

50

40

30

300

240

180

120

60

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

 
 
 
Outlook 2011

The current expectations for 2011 are summarised in the table 
below:

Expectations are as reported, 
if not otherwise stated 

Current expectations
2 February 2011

Sales growth
•  in local currencies 
•  as reported 

Operating profit growth
•  in local currencies 
•  as reported 

Net financials 

Effective tax rate 

Capital expenditure 

8–10%
Around 1.5 percentage points lower

Around 15%
Around 2.5 percentage points lower

Expense of around DKK 100 million

Around 23%

Around DKK 3.5 billion

Depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses 

Around DKK 2.7 billion

Free cash flow 

More than DKK 16 billion

Novo Nordisk expects sales growth in 2011 of 8–10% measured in 
local currencies. This is based on expectations of continued market 
penetration for Novo Nordisk’s key products, as well as expectations 
of continued intense competition, generic competition to oral 
antidiabetic products, and an impact from the implementation of 
healthcare reforms primarily in the US and Europe. Given the current 
level of exchange rates versus Danish kroner, the reported sales 
growth is expected to be around 1.5 percentage points lower than 
growth measured in local currencies.

For 2011, growth in operating profit is expected to be around 15% 
measured in local currencies. Given the current level of exchange 
rates versus Danish kroner, the reported operating profit growth 
is expected to be 2.5 percentage points lower than growth 
measured in local currencies.

For 2011, Novo Nordisk expects a net financial expense of around 
DKK 100 million. The current expectation reflects that the impact 
of currency hedging contracts is approximately neutral.

The effective tax rate for 2011 is expected to be around 23%.

Capital expenditure is expected to be around DKK 3.5 billion in 
2011, primarily related to investments in the new insulin formulation 
and filling plant in China and a new prefilled device production 
facility in Denmark. Expectations for depreciation, amortisation 
and impairment losses are around DKK 2.7 billion whereas free cash 
flow is expected to be more than DKK 16 billion.

All of the above expectations are based on the assumption that 
the global economic environment will not significantly change 
business conditions for Novo Nordisk during the remainder of 
2011 and that currency exchange rates, especially the US dollar, 
will remain at the current level versus the Danish krone during 
the remainder of 2011.

Novo Nordisk has hedged expected net cash flows in a number of 
invoicing currencies and, all other things being equal, movements 

in key invoicing currencies will impact Novo Nordisk’s operating 
profit as outlined in the table below:

Key 
invoicing 
currency 

Annual impact on Novo Nordisk’s 
operating profit of a 5%  
movement in currency 

Hedging
period
(months)

USD 
JPY 
CNY 
GBP 
* USD used as proxy when hedging Novo Nordisk’s CNY currency exposure.

DKK 620 million 
DKK 155 million 
DKK 120 million 
DKK 85 million 

15
13
12*
10

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The financial impact from foreign exchange hedging is included 
in ‘Net financials’.

Forward-looking statements
Novo Nordisk’s reports filed with or furnished to the US Securities and Exchange Commission 
(SEC), including this document and Form 20-F, both expected to be filed with the SEC in February 
2011, and written information released, or oral statements made, to the public in the future by 
or on behalf of Novo Nordisk, may contain forward-looking statements. Words such as ‘believe’, 
‘expect’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘plan’, ‘strategy’, ‘prospect’, ‘foresee’, ‘estimate’, ‘project’, ‘anticipate’, ‘can’, 
‘intend’, ‘target’ and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion 
of future operating or financial performance identify forward-looking statements. Examples of 
such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

•   statements of plans, objectives or goals for future operations, including those related to Novo 
Nordisk’s products, product research, product development, product introductions and product 
approvals as well as cooperations in relation thereto

•   statements containing projections of or targets for revenues, income (or loss), earnings per share, 

capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other net financials

•   statements regarding future economic performance, future actions and outcome of contingencies 

such as legal proceedings

•   statements regarding the assumptions underlying or relating to such statements.

In this document, examples of forward-looking statements can be found under the headings 
‘Performance in 2010’, ‘Outlook 2011’, ‘Managing performance using long-term targets’ 
‘Strategic focus areas’ and elsewhere.

These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections. By their very nature, 
forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific. 
Novo Nordisk cautions that a number of important factors, including those described in this 
document, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any 
forward-looking statements.

Factors that may affect future results include, but are not limited to, global as well as local political 
and economic conditions, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations, delay 
or failure of projects related to research and/or development, unplanned loss of patents, 
interruptions of supplies and production, product recall, unexpected contract breaches 
or terminations, government-mandated or market-driven price decreases for Novo Nordisk’s 
products, introduction of competing products, reliance on information technology, Novo 
Nordisk’s ability to successfully market current and new products, exposure to product liability 
and legal proceedings and investigations, changes in governmental laws and interpretation 
thereof, including on reimbursement, intellectual property protection and regulatory controls 
on testing, approval, manufacturing and marketing, perceived or actual failure to adhere to 
ethical marketing practices, investments in and divestitures of domestic and foreign companies, 
unexpected growth in costs and expenses, failure to recruit and retain the right employees 
and failure to maintain a culture of compliance.

Please also refer to the overview of risk factors on pp 43–45.

Unless required by law Novo Nordisk is under no duty and undertakes no obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statement after the distribution of this document, whether as a 
result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     11

 
 
 
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Managing
performance using
long-term targets

Interview with Jesper Brandgaard,
Novo Nordisk’s chief financial officer

How does Novo Nordisk use long-term
financial targets to manage the business?
The long-term financial targets are set based on a continuation 
of the current organic growth strategy and the current scope of 
activities. The targets help management establish a balance 
between growing the business profitably in the near term while 
ensuring we are able to make investments to support long-term 
growth. When Novo Nordisk sets long-term targets, we have 
a clearly defined ambition and a plan to achieve them.

Every year, interim targets for the long-term targets are included in 
the company’s Balanced Scorecard and cascaded to relevant parts 
of the business. The interim targets are set based on prior-year 
performance, the prevailing currency and competitive environment.

It is also important that our activities result in cash generation, 
a portion of which can be returned to shareholders as dividends.

How long has Novo Nordisk used long-term financial targets?
Financial targets, including the 15% growth target for operating 
profit, were introduced in 1996. The growth target for operating 
profit has been viewed as the cornerstone financial target from 
the beginning. In 1996, the target for free cash flow was ‘only’ 
to have positive cash flow, reflecting how investment-intensive 
the business was at that point in time.

The first long-term targets for Novo Nordisk in its current structure 
were announced in 2001. Despite a very tough year in 2002, 
including a profit warning and the termination of clinical develop-
ment of a key late-stage project, we achieved the targets in 2005 
and announced new targets. At that time, it was clear that the 
growth rate of the overall pharmaceutical industry was declining. 
We decided to retain our growth target for operating profit, 
which has been viewed as increasingly ambitious over time.

What are the key contributors to the company’s
strong performance against financial targets?
Over the past five years, two things have had a substantial impact 
on our financial performance. First, there has been a very steady 
positive development in our overall production economy. By 
producing more in existing facilities without expanding capacity, 
we have been able to reduce costs and defer investments, which 
has also helped to improve our cash flows.

Second, Novo Nordisk has been especially successful in the US 
over the past five years. Due to trading and rebate conditions, 
funding requirements for growing our US business are lower 
than in many other countries. By contrast, in many parts of the 
world, accounts receivable from wholesalers may take up to 
three months to be paid. The lower level of invested capital 
required for expanding our business in the US has had a positive 
effect on the company’s overall return on invested capital.

How is Novo Nordisk changing
its long-term financial targets?
The company’s 15% growth in operating profit target has 
become ever more ambitious in the current pharmaceutical 
environment. We believe that continuing to pursue this very 
challenging target shows that Novo Nordisk is striving to be 
among the best in the industry.

The target level for operating margin has been increased 
from 30% to 35%. The increase reflects our expectation of 
continued improvement in efficiencies from our manufacturing 
facilities around the world and longer-term in the productivity 
of our global sales force, which is approaching critical mass in 
terms of scale in many countries. Over the last 10 years, we 
have also made significant improvements in the ratio of our 
administration costs to sales, from 8% in 2001 to 5% today, 
and this will continue with a smaller relative improvement. It 
should be noted that the achievement of the operating margin 
target may be influenced by significant changes in market 
conditions, including regulatory developments, changes in 
pricing environment, healthcare reforms and exchange rate 
movements.

The four targets provide
a guide to the level of
growth, profitability and
return to which we aspire.

The target level for return on invested capital measured post 
tax has been increased from 50% to 70%. The raised target 
reflects the expectation of continued lower growth in invested 
capital relative to operating profit as well as a stable effective tax 
rate. In setting the new target level Novo Nordisk has assumed 
that the proposed accounting rules regarding treatment of 
operating leases will be implemented. It is currently anticipated 
that the introduction of this new accounting standard will have 
a negative effect on return on invested capital by approximately 
10 percentage points.

The target level for the cash-to-earnings ratio has been increased 
from 80% to 90%, reflecting a sustained lower tangible invest-
ment level and an improved cash conversion ability. As previously, 
this target will be pursued looking at the average over a three-
year period.

What is the time frame for the targets?
We establish long-term targets with the ambition of achievement 
in a 4–5-year time horizon. If the business environment and 
competitive environment turn out to be favourable, then we may 
achieve targets earlier. That has been the case recently; currencies 
and the competitive environment have been more favourable 
than we envisioned in 2008. But the opposite may also happen, 
leading to delays in achieving the targets.

12     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
Are Novo Nordisk’s targets ambitious?
When we set targets in our 2008 Annual Report, they certainly 
felt ambitious. For instance, we increased our long-term 
target for return on invested capital by quite a bit in 2008, 
from 30% to 50%.

It might appear, based on recent performance, that the current 
cash-to-earnings target is somewhat conservative. If you look 
at our history of working with this target, which is measured on a 
three-year rolling average, we initially struggled to meet it because 
of our heavy investments in insulin production. It is also a target 
that, in a single year, may be very sensitive to external factors 
beyond Novo Nordisk's control. 

How do the company’s long-term financial
targets tie to the Novo Nordisk Way?
We believe that the only way we can run a sustainable business
 is to generate strong results on multiple dimensions. Growing 
our business profitably and delivering competitive results is the 
basis of our ability to help patients live better lives, offer an 
attractive return to our shareholders and serve all of our 
stakeholders.

What are the uncertainties in achieving the new targets?
Exchange rates are always an unknown variable for a global 
business. Regulatory approval of development projects, parti -
cularly Degludec and DegludecPlus, is critical to achieving our 
ambitious targets. Price pressures from healthcare reforms in 
many parts of the world will also have an impact, notably in 
Europe, some emerging markets and the US. The full effect 
of the implementation of the US healthcare reform will only 
become apparent over the next few years. We expect com-
petition to increase, and this includes biosimilar competition 
to our existing products, and this could have an impact. 

I would also like to stress that the long-term targets are set given 
the current scope of activities. If strategic opportunities arise that 
require us to act, it could impact our ability to meet the targets. 
Should this situation materialise, we may have to adjust the 
targets. The long-term targets should not prevent Novo Nordisk 
from pursuing initiatives which will improve our long-term 
competitive situation.

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Results compared with
long-term financial targets

Growth in
operating profit

  Target
  Realised
  Realised excl pulmonary
  diabetes projects

Operating margin

  Target
  Realised
  Realised excl pulmonary
  diabetes projects

Return on 
invested capital 
(ROIC)

  Target
  Realised

Cash to earnings 
Three-year average

  Target
  Realised

%

50

40

30

20

10

0

%

35

30

25

20

15

%

100

80

60

40

20

0

%

150

120

90

60

30

0

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Ratio 

Growth in operating profit 
Operating margin 
Return on invested capital (ROIC) 
Cash to earnings (three-year average) 

New target

15%
35%
70%
90%

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     13

 
 
 
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Performance highlights

DKK million 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2009 –2010

Sales 
    Modern insulin (insulin analogues) 
    Human insulin  
    Victoza® 
    Protein-related products 
    Oral antidiabetic products (OAD) 

10,825 
13,451 
– 
1,606 
1,984 

14,008 
12,572 
– 
1,749 
2,149 

17,317 
11,804 
– 
1,844 
2,391 

21,471 
11,315 
87 
1,977 
2,652 

26,601 
11,827 
2,317 
2,214 
2,751 

    Diabetes care total 

27,866 

30,478 

33,356 

37,502 

45,710 

    NovoSeven®  
    Norditropin® 
    Hormone replacement therapy 
    Other products 

5,635 
3,309 
1,607 
326 

5,865  
3,511  
1,668  
309  

6,396 
3,865 
1,612 
324 

7,072 
4,401 
1,744 
359 

8,030 
4,803 
1,892 
341 

    Biopharmaceuticals total 

10,877 

11,353  

12,197 

13,576 

15,066 

Total sales by business segment 

38,743 

41,831 

45,553 

51,078 

60,776 

    North America 
    Europe 
    International Operations1 
    – of which Region China 
    Japan & Korea1 

12,280 
15,300 
7,156 
1,546 
4,007 

13,746  
16,350  
7,892  
2,022 
3,843  

15,154 
17,219 
8,984 
2,631 
4,196 

18,279 
17,540 
10,371 
3,536 
4,888 

23,609 
18,664 
12,843 
4,508 
5,660 

Total sales by geographical segment 

38,743 

41,831 

45,553 

51,078 

60,776 

Increase in local currencies 
Currency effect (local currency impact) 

Total sales increase as reported 

16% 
(1%) 

15% 

13% 
(5%) 

8% 

12% 
(3%) 

9% 

Financial performance
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses 
Operating profi t 
Net fi nancials 
Profi t before income taxes 
Net profi t 

Total assets 
Equity 

Capital expenditure, net 
Free cash fl ow2 

Financial ratios
Percentage of sales
    Sales outside Denmark  
    Sales and distribution costs 
    Research and development costs  
    Administrative expenses 

Gross margin2 
Net profi t margin2 
Effective tax rate2 
Equity ratio2 
Return on equity (ROE)2 
Payout ratio2 
Payout ratio excl non-recurring events3 

Ratios for long-term fi nancial targets 
Operating profi t margin2 
Operating profi t growth 
Return on invested capital (ROIC)2 
Return on invested capital (ROIC) 
excl non-recurring events3 
Cash to earnings2 
Cash to earnings, three-year average 

Share ratios
Basic earnings per share/ADR in DKK2 
Diluted earnings per share/ADR in DKK2 
Dividend per share in DKK 
Total dividend 

14     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

2,142 
9,119 
45 
9,164 
6,452 

44,692 
30,122 

2,787 
4,707 

99.2% 
30.0% 
16.3% 
6.2% 

75.3% 
16.7% 
29.6% 
67.4% 
22.3% 
34.4% 
34.4% 

23.5% 
12.7% 
25.8% 

25.8% 
73.0% 
80.2% 

10.05 
10.00 
3.50 
2,221 

3,007 
8,942 
2,029 
10,971 
8,522 

47,731 
32,182 

2,268 
9,012 

99.2% 
29.6% 
20.4% 
6.0% 

76.6% 
20.4% 
22.3% 
67.4% 
27.4% 
32.8% 
34.9% 

21.4% 
(1.9%) 
27.2% 

29.9% 
105.7% 
87.0% 

13.49 
13.39 
4.50 
2,795 

2,442 
12,373 
322 
12,695 
9,645 

50,603 
32,979 

1,754 
11,015 

99.2% 
28.2% 
17.2% 
5.8% 

77.8% 
21.2% 
24.0% 
65.2% 
29.6% 
37.8% 
36.6% 

27.2% 
38.4% 
37.4% 

38.4% 
114.2% 
97.6% 

15.66 
15.54 
6.00 
3,650 

11% 
1% 

12% 

2,551 
14,933 
(945) 
13,988 
10,768 

54,742 
35,734 

2,631 
12,332 

99.2% 
30.2% 
15.4% 
5.4% 

79.6% 
21.1% 
23.0% 
65.3% 
31.3% 
40.9% 
40.9% 

29.2% 
20.7% 
47.3% 

47.3% 
114.5% 
111.5% 

17.97 
17.82 
7.50 
4,400 

13% 
6% 

19% 

2,467 
18,891 
(605) 
18,286 
14,403 

61,402 
36,965 

3,308 
17,013 

99.4% 
29.9% 
15.8% 
5.0% 

80.8% 
23.7% 
21.2% 
60.2% 
39.6% 
39.6% 
42.8% 

31.1% 
26.5% 
63.6% 

62.4% 
118.1% 
115.6% 

24.81 
24.60 
10.00 
5,700 

Change
23.9%
4.5%
N/A
12.0%
3.7%

21.9%

13.5%
9.1%
8.5%
(5.0%)

11.0%

19.0%

29.2%
6.4%
23.8%
27.5%
15.8%

19.0%

(3.3%)
26.5%
(36.0%)
30.7%
33.8%

12.2%
3.4%

25.7%
38.0%

Long-term 
fi nancial targets4
35%
15%
70%

90%

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Change

1.5%

0%

18.8%

12.7%

3.9%

Long-term
social targets

100%

4.0 or above

100%

Improve
(or maintain)

0

80% or above

Change

(0.5)%
(4.7)%

(34.9)%
(6.2)%
(2.2)%

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2009 –2010

Social performance 
Patients:
Donations to the World Diabetes Foundation (DKK million) 
Donations to the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia 
Foundation (DKK million) 
Healthcare professionals trained or educated in 
diabetes (1,000) (accumulated) 
People with diabetes trained (1,000) 

New patent families (fi rst fi lings) 

Employees:
Employees (total) 
Employee turnover (%) 

Internal assurance and monitoring:
Employees trained in business ethics (%) 

Ratios for social performance 
LDCs where Novo Nordisk sells insulin  
according to the differential pricing policy (%)5 

Engaging culture (employee  
engagement) on a scale of 1– 56 

Diverse senior management teams (%)7 

Company reputation with external key  
stakeholders (on a scale of 0 –100)8 

Warning letters and reinspections 

Fulfi lment of action points from facilitations  
of the Novo Nordisk Way (%) of Management 

Environmental performance 
Inputs:
Energy consumption (1,000 GJ) 
Water consumption (1,000 m3) 

62 

15 

297 
– 

149 

65 

11 

336 
– 

116 

68 

10 

380 
– 

71 

68 

15 

805 
416 

55 

69 

15 

1,178 
494 

62 

23.613 
10.0 

26.008 
11.6 

27.068 
12.1 

29.329 
8.3 

30.483 
9.1 

– 

– 

– 

– 

98 

68 

4.0 

– 

73.8 

0 

88 

72 

4.1 

– 

74.0 

0 

91 

64 

4.2 

43 

72.4 

0 

92 

73 

4.3 

50 

76.3 

0 

93 

67 

4.3 

54 

76.1 

0 

93 

2,712 
2,995 

2,784 
3,231 

2,533 
2,684 

2,246 
2,149 

2,234 
2,047 

Outputs:
CO2 emissions from energy consumption (1,000 tons) 
Wastewater (1,000 m3) 
Waste (tons) 

229 
2,583 
24,165 

236 
2,764 
17,576 

215 
2,542 
20,346 

146 
2,062 
21,019 

95 
1,935 
20,565 

Ratios for environmental performance 
Energy consumption  
(change compared to 2007 in %) 

Water consumption  
(change compared to 2007 in %) 

CO2 emissions from energy consumption  
(change compared to 2004 in %) 

– 

– 

9 

– 

– 

12 

(9) 

(17) 

2 

(19) 

(34) 

(31) 

(20) 

(37) 

(55) 

Long-term
environmental targets

11% reduction

11% reduction

10% reduction

1. As of 1 January 2010 Korea joined Japan to form Region Japan & Korea, while Australia and New Zealand became part of Region International Operations. 

The historical fi gures for 2006 –2009 have been restated and are comparable to the 2010 regional setup.

2. For defi nitions, please refer to p 92.
3. Impact of ZymoGenetics, Inc. share divestment, discontinuation of all pulmonary diabetes projects and impact of DAKO A/S share divestment.
4. The long-term fi nancial targets were updated in February 2011. Please refer to pp 12–13.
5. Least developed countries, as defi ned by the UN, where Novo Nordisk sells insulin at or below 20% of the average prices for insulin in the western world.
6. Based on eVoice, an employee survey using a scale of 1– 5, with 5 being the best score.
7. Diverse in terms of gender and nationality.
8. Company reputation is measured by an independent external consultancy fi rm using a scale of 0 –100, with 100 being the best score.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     15

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“ Health and exercise go 
hand in hand. I wouldn’t 
normally have known so 
much about it if I didn’t 
have diabetes.”
Jonathan Childsworth

Jonathan Childsworth of Cape Town, South Africa, was 
diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 14. Today, 
at 22, he works as a personal trainer, helping other people 
with diabetes achieve their health goals.

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16     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
Our business

Novo Nordisk is a focused healthcare company specialising in 
therapeutic proteins, providing life-saving treatments for people 
with diabetes and rare bleeding disorders. We also offer treatment 
for growth hormone deficiency, as well as low-dose hormone 
replacement therapy products. Finally, we carry out development 
projects targeting treatment of inflammation and obesity.

Offering treatment for unmet medical needs and improving care 
for people with chronic disease is what drives our ambition and 
determines our strategic focus. We seek to leverage our core 
strengths in protein engineering and chronic disease treatment 
in areas where we see potential for global market leadership.

We aim to grow our business in ways that are both responsible 
and sustainable, managing in accordance with the Novo Nordisk 
Way and the Triple Bottom Line principle. To achieve long-term 
success we must:

•   continue to develop and provide innovative treatments and 

delivery devices

•   adapt our business to changes in societies as well as in 

healthcare systems

•   maintain leadership and expand into new markets

•   continue to pursue production efficiencies

•   recruit, develop and retain talented people to support global 

growth.

Strategic focus areas

One of the key differentiators for Novo Nordisk compared with 
other pharmaceutical companies is that our business is primarily 
focused on protein engineering, expression and formulation 
supported by innovative devices that improve treatment convenience 
and accuracy. Novo Nordisk is at the forefront of innovation in 
protein expression in yeast, which is used for insulins and GLP-1, 
E. coli, which are used for growth hormone, as well as mammalian 
cells, which are used for NovoSeven®.

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One of the key differentiators
for Novo Nordisk is that our
business is primarily focused
on protein engineering,
expression and formulation.

Diabetes care: expand leadership
Beginning with the first patients our company treated with insulin 
in the 1920s, we have been dedicated to continuously improving 
the safety, efficacy and convenience of diabetes treatment. Today, 
as the only company with a full portfolio of human and modern 
insulins, we are uniquely positioned to address the issues at the core 
of the diabetes pandemic: insulin deficiency and the complexities 
of treating it. For those millions of people who must live with 
diabetes, our goal is to offer individualised treatment options so 
that they can lead their lives in full.

Novo Nordisk’s corporate strategy

Therapeutic area

Compounds and capabilities

Strategic focus

Diabetes

Insulin and GLP-1

Expand leadership

Obesity

GLP-1

Haemophilia

Coagulation factors

Growth disorders

Human growth hormone

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Expand portfolio

Achieve leadership

Infl ammation

Monoclonal antibodies

Explore opportunities

The Novo Nordisk Way

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     17

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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While there is not yet a cure for diabetes or a means of reversing 
diabetes progression, we are conducting research in cooperation 
with leading academic centres to tackle the roots of the condition. 
Through two key projects at our Hagedorn Research Institute for 
applied research involving stem cell biology and beta cell 
regeneration, we are making progress towards preventing and 
ultimately curing diabetes. Hagedorn is a fully integrated part of 
Novo Nordisk and a market-leading incubator for innovation to 
change diabetes treatment. In 2010, we instituted a new funding 
model at Hagedorn to support efforts to identify new biological-
based targets that could qualify to enter Novo Nordisk’s diabetes 
pipeline. We are striving to develop treatments for the full span 
of a person’s life that are as convenient and safe as possible.

We continue to invest in the expansion of insulin innovation 
leadership with research activities aimed at continuous improve-
ment for all types of insulin. Our leadership position within 
diabetes care is bolstered by the fact that we are the only company 
with two next-generation insulins, Degludec and DegludecPlus, 
in late-stage clinical development. Degludec and DegludecPlus 
are engineered to be ultra-long acting. Phase 3 results are 
reported on p 30.

Treatment convenience is what most people with diabetes give 
highest priority in order to effectively manage their condition. We 
hope to be able to radically change insulin delivery, offering tablets 
in addition to injectable treatments. The development of oral 
formulations for both insulin and GLP-1 is still at an early stage and 
many technological challenges remain. Our current work involves 
searching for the most suitable compounds and the best method 
of oral delivery, one that will ensure that the active ingredients are 
not destroyed or degraded in the gastrointestinal tract and move 
through the gut to exert therapeutic effect on blood glucose.

We are also developing a faster-acting bolus insulin to be taken 
at mealtimes. Our faster-acting insulin aspart entered phase 1 
development in 2010.

Building a GLP-1 portfolio
With the successful launch of Victoza® (liraglutide), our once-daily 
Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue, we have a strong 
product offering for the earlier stages of type 2 diabetes, before 
insulin is needed, expanding our diabetes product range and 
potential market.

Over the past 25 years, we have built a portfolio of modern insulin 
products covering the full spectrum of treatment needs for insulin. 
We are now building a GLP-1 portfolio, developing oral and GLP-1/
insulin combination treatments and researching the combination 
of GLP-1 with insulin, with the intention to provide an even broader 
range of treatment options.

Receiving regulatory approval for antiobesity medications remains 
a major challenge. Several compounds targeting obesity have 
recently failed to obtain regulatory approval due to limited efficacy 
outweighed by side effects. However, given the initial results seen 
in randomised controlled trials with liraglutide, we believe the 
compound can offer significant benefit for people challenged with 
weight issues.

Given the initial results seen
in randomised controlled trials 
with liraglutide, we believe the 
compound can offer significant 
benefit for people challenged 
with weight issues.

Haemophilia: expand portfolio
We have a solid position in the treatment of haemophilia with 
inhibitors due to the success of NovoSeven®, which remains the 
leading recombinant bypassing agent available for these patients. 
We are also working to develop two potential successors to 
NovoSeven®, a long-acting recombinant factor VIIa derivative and 
a fast-acting recombinant factor VIIa analogue, both in clinical 
development.

Our long-term ambition is to develop more convenient treatment 
and safe options for all people with rare bleeding disorders. We 
are therefore leveraging our core protein capabilities to develop 
recombinant and long-acting factor VIII and IX compounds for 
the treatment of haemophilia A and B respectively. The primary 
focus in haemophilia treatment is to prevent bleeds and sub-
sequently reduce damage to joints.

Strategies for other biopharmaceutical business areas
As the global market leader by value in growth hormone therapy, 
Novo Nordisk’s strategy is to provide innovative, simple, convenient 
products and devices as well as a full range of service offerings for 
physicians and patients in markets where services can be delivered. 
We are also seeking approval for additional uses of Norditropin®, 
which is still the only liquid, room-temperature-stable growth 
hormone product in a prefilled pen device. During 2010, we 
launched a new prefilled, ergonomic Norditropin® FlexPro® auto-
injector pen device in some markets.

Our GLP-1 pipeline includes oral GLP-1 and a fixed combination 
of Victoza® with Degludec, which may offer the benefits of both 
compounds in a fixed convenient solution.

The overall strategy for our hormone replacement business is to 
focus on ultra-low-dose offerings, with a particular focus on 
Vagifem® 10 μg, which was launched in 2010.

Obesity: establish a presence
Obesity is known to be a major risk factor in developing type 2 
diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a range of other life-threatening 
diseases. Obesity has been estimated to account for 60–90% of 
new cases of type 2 diabetes.1 Liraglutide has shown the potential 
– in clinical studies of people with diabetes and of obese people 
without diabetes – to reduce food intake and control weight. We 
have therefore chosen to explore this as a potential new way to 
treat obesity.

The development of an inflammation franchise is a long-term 
investment to create growth opportunities. Chronic autoimmune 
inflammation is a disease area where our core competences in 
protein molecules and chronic disease care can be leveraged. In 
the core disease areas of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis 
and inflammatory bowel diseases, clinical use of first-generation 
protein-based biologic agents that modify overactive immune 
response have been shown to offer significant benefit to patients. 
However, in each of these disease areas, there are also significant 

18     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
numbers of patients who do not adequately respond to current 
treatments, so there is an opportunity for new treatments to address 
these unmet medical needs.

In order to successfully build a presence in this treatment area, we 
are investing in early-stage research with the hope of finding the 
underlying causes of inflammatory conditions and developing new 
treatments for these conditions, particularly for patients who are 
unresponsive to current treatments. Our research and development 
centres in the US, China and Denmark are successfully recruiting 
talent and medical teams are being established to support pipeline 
progression.

Device innovation
Novo Nordisk produces the world’s most widely used prefilled and 
durable insulin pen devices. Striving to continuously improve chronic 
disease therapy, we have designed these devices to improve dose 
accuracy, convenience and general user-friendliness.2,3 The same 
technologies are used for modern insulins and Norditropin®.

Our research and development priorities for device innovation are 
guided by customer insight studies. The ultimate goal is convenient 
and simple device technology that supports treatment compliance, 
with positive implications for patients’ health.4,5 Our devices also 
positively differentiate our products from competitor products.

1.  Kasuga. J Clin Invest. 2006;116:1756–1760.
2.  Asakura T, Seino H, Nakano R, et al. A comparison of the handling and accuracy of syringe and 
vial versus prefilled insulin pen (FlexPen®). Diabetes Technol Ther. Oct 2009;11(10):657–661.
3.  Korytkowski M, Bell D, Jacobsen C, Suwannasari R. A multicenter, randomized, open-label, 
comparative, two-period crossover trial of preference, efficacy, and safety profiles of a 
prefilled, disposable pen and conventional vial/syringe for insulin injection in patients with 
type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus. Clin Ther. 2003 Nov;25(11):2836–48.

4.  Korytkowski M, Bell D, Jacobsen C, Suwannasari R. A multicenter, randomized, open-label, 
comparative, two-period crossover trial of preference, efficacy, and safety profiles of a 
prefilled, disposable pen and conventional vial/syringe for insulin injection in patients with 
type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus. Clin Ther. 2003 Nov;25(11):2836–48.

5.  Graff MR, McClanahan MA. Assessment by patients with diabetes mellitus of two insulin pen 

delivery systems versus a vial and syringe. Clin Ther. 1998 May–Jun;20(3):486–96.

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Delivering on
our strategy

We believe that the current functional organisational structure, 
governance set-up, resources and competences are sufficiently 
effective and robust. In support of our strategic objectives and 
future growth, we are:

•   improving global governance in key areas

•   focusing on attracting and developing talents in key markets 

to drive diversity and growth

•   developing business and organisational roadmaps for new 

business areas.

We are also improving our ability to manage innovation, the 
globalisation of our business and supply chain, and the pursuit 
of production efficiencies.

Improving global governance
Operating globally as a pharmaceutical company with a strong 
patient focus means that the company is inevitably faced with 
dilemmas relating to ethical business conduct and behaviour. One 
clear dilemma is related to our objective of providing therapies to 
patients wherever they are. Novo Nordisk consequently engages 
in business in countries where the general business environment 
is challenging. We have taken a number of measures to ensure 
compliance with both our own and international ethical standards, 
and in 2010 we strengthened governance to enhance the 
monitoring of the ethical climate within our organisation.

The internal governance structure for business ethics was upgraded 
to a larger board structure with representation from all regions. 
Steps were also taken to strengthen the global legal compliance 
structure, clearly separating compliance responsibility from other 
legal tasks. We have also changed the way we track business ethics 
training. Previously, we required all managers to be trained in 
business ethics, as well as staff involved in sales and marketing 
and regulatory and public affairs. Beginning in 2010, Novo Nordisk 
required that all employees should be trained in business ethics 
annually. See pp 10 and 98.

Attraction, retention and development of our people
In our knowledge-intensive business, recruiting, mentoring and 
retaining talented people throughout the world is critical to 
sustaining our growth. To attract the type of people we need, 
we have developed a global employer branding programme, 
Life-changing careers, and have strengthened our leadership 
development.

During 2010, about 1,000 new leaders were appointed through-
out the company. Training and development of leadership 
competences remains a focus area, and new training programmes 
to develop personal leadership skills and employees identified as 
having senior management potential will be introduced in 2011. 
We are also building our leaders’ capacity to implement and 
demon strate the Novo Nordisk Way, our values-based management 
system.

Diversity
We believe that diversity is a prerequisite for staying competitive 
in the global marketplace and attracting the best talent. During 

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     19

 
Globalisation
Globalisation continues to be an organisational growth driver for 
our company, providing access to new markets, expansion of 
existing markets and improved access to talented people and 
innovation potential. Since the opening of our first office in China 
in 1994, we have steadily increased our commitment to the country, 
establishing it as a separate region as of the beginning of 2011.

This organisational change was made to further develop the 
significant business potential in China and improve oversight of 
this part of our business. The business challenges in China are 
significant, with a competitive business environment, a highly 
competitive labour market and increasingly complex legislation. 
However, Novo Nordisk is generally well positioned in the Chinese 
diabetes market, with a market share by volume of 
approximately 60%.

North America, particularly the US market, is another important 
growth area for our business. As our market share in the US has 
increased substantially in recent years, we have increased our 
efforts to attract talent and build organisational support structures 
for this market.

As Novo Nordisk continues to grow and expand, we must focus 
resources on organisational coordination and foster innovation 
and collaboration across borders. Developing virtual workplaces 
and processes which support virtual working is also critical to our 
future success.

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2010, we made progress towards our diversity target, with diver sity 
by gender and nationality increasing in senior management teams. 
See p 10.

There are, however, significant challenges. It is clear that the 
continued growth of Novo Nordisk requires the recruitment of 
highly talented employees in many large markets. We are acceler-
ating the development of corporate hubs throughout the world 
to provide career and development opportunities for highly 
talented employees outside Denmark.

We are improving our
ability to manage innovation, 
the globalisation of
our business and supply
chain, and the pursuit of 
production efficiencies.

Supporting new products and therapy areas
As we pursue the strategic focus areas outlined on pp 17–19, we 
must also ensure that we have the organisational competences to 
support the research and development, production and sales and 
marketing capabilities needed for new products and new therapy 
areas.

Because development of oral insulin and oral GLP-1 requires specific 
knowledge of the gastrointestinal tract, our development efforts 
have involved partnerships which build on our internal capabilities. 
We have developed tablet production facilities for these clinical 
trials, but large-scale production will require additional facilities 
and capabilities.

To support our ambitions in obesity, general haemophilia and 
in flammation, we are continuing to expand capabilities, com-
petences and resources in line with progress in our business plans. 
Our success in these areas will depend on our ability to ensure 
sufficient leadership and commercialisation capabilities in these 
new therapy areas.

Innovation
We undertook an innovation culture review in 2009 in an attempt 
to enhance the organisation’s ability to deliver on process innovation 
and respond to broader challenges in the business environment. 
In 2010, five innovation projects were selected from 20 proposed 
by senior vice presidents. The selected projects are intended to 
broaden the company’s innovation culture across the value chain 
and were initiated with Executive Management sponsorship.

Projects launched include: the New Sales Model project aimed at 
exploring sales channel options to address changing customer needs 
and behaviour; the Future Workplace project to identify and address 
key challenges in attracting, retaining and developing talented 
people; and the Base of the Pyramid project to develop a business 
model addresses that the needs of patients in the poorest countries.

20     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
Creating
long-term
value

Interview with Lise Kingo,
Novo Nordisk’s chief of staffs

Why does Novo Nordisk put so much
emphasis on the Triple Bottom Line?
We want to be a sustainable business, and this implies being 
profitable to secure future growth and to make our contribution 
to social and economic development. We have chosen to 
translate our commitment to sustainable development as the 
Triple Bottom Line principle: balancing financial, social and 
environmental considerations in a responsible way.

In practice, this means that we manage and account for our 
social and environmental performance in the same way as we 
do for our financial performance.

A fundamental aspect of the Triple Bottom Line principle is that 
we acknowledge our role as a corporate citizen and consider 
the societal impacts, both positive and potentially negative of 
our business. When we make decisions and priorities to secure 
business success for the future, we must always take into 
account the concerns and interest of all stakeholders.

What role should companies play
in addressing global challenges?
Business and society are not separate actors, but closely 
interconnected. That is why sustainability challenges must be 
high on board agendas: poverty and poor health, urbanisation 
and migration, demographics and pandemics, climate change 
and water scarcity – all of these issues need to be factored into 
business strategies and risk assessments.

Our priorities are aligned with the Millennium Development 
Goals. As a global leader in diabetes care we see a role for 
ourselves in highlighting how some of the current global 
challenges are connected and therefore need to be addressed 
at their roots. Climate change and the diabetes pandemic are 
examples of how unsustainable lifestyles threaten to undermine 
the future for generations to come. Working in partnerships 
we can leverage our core competencies to contribute to 
economic prosperity, public health and low-carbon growth. 

As a company with global reach, we have a key role in con tri -
buting to more balanced, sustainable growth. There is a growing 
recognition that capitalism as we have known it is unsustainable, 
but that market mechanisms, when effective, are the best way 
to create shared value. What we will need is therefore to shift 
towards what some have termed ‘sustainable capitalism’. 

All economic activity is based on the use of natural and human 
resources. Natural resources are scarce. Human resources are 
abundant. None of them are equitably distributed, nor is their 
real value reflected in the current market economy. This needs 
to change. We engage in several ways, including through 
partnerships and alliances with other leading companies under 

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the auspices of the Global Compact LEAD initiative, to de-
monstrate how you can balance profits and non-financial 
benefits for society in responsible and sustainable ways.

How can you determine whether
this approach creates business value?
Our purpose extends beyond short-term profits. We provide 
long-term value by serving the needs of people whose lives 
and quality of life depend on the treatments and services that 
we can provide. When we do business in a responsible way, 
we create value in several ways: we strengthen our company 
reputation, earn stakeholder trust, build employee engagement 
and customer satisfaction and through these assets a stronger 
foundation for remaining a profitable business, which ultimately 
benefits our shareholders. 

We are seeing increasing evidence of a clear correlation of 
actions as a responsible and sustainability-driven business 
and our performance, measured by conventional yardsticks 
such as operational profits and return on invested capital.

In what ways can you assess the benefits to society?
Together with experts and with inputs from stakeholders we 
have developed a methodology that enables us to value the 
contribution of our Triple Bottom Line approach in a profit and 
loss perspective. We have called this initiative our Blueprint 
for Change programme, and we have conducted Triple Bottom 
Line reviews looking at our climate action strategy and our 
business approach in China.

The China case takes its point of departure in the fact that 
diabetes now affects more than 40 million people and their 
families, and the number is projected to double over the next 
15 years, posing a growing social, educational and economic 
challenge. Our long-term business strategy, which includes 
significant investments in strengthening the healthcare system 
in partnership with the Ministry of Health and establishing 
a strong local presence, is having a real and lasting impact. 
Looking at the value created from 2005 to 2010 the study 
demonstrates how we are changing diabetes in China and at 
the same time building a profitable business. 

Providing training for physicians and offering education and 
support for people with diabetes has saved 140,000 life years, 
and this number is projected to increase by 30% annually 
because the benefits of effective diabetes care will be seen 
over a longer time span. Our business activities have created 
jobs in research and development, production and sales as 
well as indirectly through our supplier base and employees’ 
local spending, totalling 14,600 jobs. And energy efficient 
local production reduces emissions related to production by 
20%, transportation emissions have fallen by a factor of six, 
and unit costs have been reduced by 40%.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     21

 
“ Novo Nordisk empowers 

employees to work together 
to change people’s lives.”
Petra van den Berg

Petra is a Senior Specialist Product Advisor in Johannesburg, 
South Africa. Her husband has been diagnosed with 
diabetes, and his experience helps Petra better understand 
the needs of people with diabetes.

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22     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
The Novo Nordisk Way

The Novo Nordisk Way is the foundation of the values-based 
management system in Novo Nordisk. It describes who we are, 
where we want to go, and how we work. Its origins can be traced 
back to when the company was founded in the 1920s, and while the 
wording has been updated over time, the essence remains the same.

The continued relevance of the Novo Nordisk Way was reaffirmed 
during 2010. On the occasion of the company’s 10-year anniversary 
as a focused healthcare company and coinciding with his own 
10-year tenure as CEO, Lars Rebien Sørensen took the opportunity 
to revisit the document. With an open mind and no predetermined 
outcome, he set out on a journey to engage with employees and 
stakeholders to seek their inputs on what to retain and what to 
renew. The journey took him to seven destinations and face-to-
face meetings with more than 350 employees and 100 patients, 
healthcare providers and other stakeholders.

The response was consistent across geographical borders, organi-
sational boundaries and external partners: the messages and 
the values embedded in the Novo Nordisk Way were not to be 

changed. On the contrary, there was a strong wish to reinforce 
the existing business principles and values. As a result, focus on 
patient needs and the Triple Bottom Line has been increased. The 
values-based management unifies a strong corporate culture and 
guides behaviour in all parts of the organisation.

While our values have not changed, the components of the Novo 
Nordisk Way have been shortened and simplified, presenting the 
company’s ambitions and values in a format that is easier to under-
stand and more accessible for all employees.

As the company continues to grow and onboards several thousand 
new employees each year, emphasis has been put on framing a list 
of 10 Essentials which describe how the values are put into action. 
As before, a follow-up methodology, called facilitations, helps us 
assess and manage the degree to which the Novo Nordisk Way is 
actively put into practice throughout our company.

In 2011, the new Novo Nordisk Way will be rolled out in the 
organisation, strengthening a unified culture around our revised 
ambitions and setting a clear direction for the next decade.

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The Novo Nordisk Way
In 1923, our Danish founders began a journey to change 
diabetes. Today, we number thousands of employees across 
the world with the passion, the skills and the commitment to 
continue this journey to prevent, treat and ultimately cure 
diabetes.

•   Our ambition is to strengthen our leadership in diabetes.

•   We aspire to change possibilities in haemophilia and other 

serious chronic conditions where we can make a 
difference.

•   Our key contribution is to discover and develop innovative 
biological medicines and make them accessible to patients 
throughout the world.

•   Growing our business and delivering competitive financial 
results is what allows us to help patients live better lives, 
offer an attractive return to our shareholders and 
contribute to our communities.

•   Our business philosophy is one of balancing financial, 

social and environmental considerations – we call it the 
Triple Bottom Line.

The Essentials
The Essentials are 10 statements describing what the Novo 
Nordisk Way looks like in practice. 

The Essentials are meant as a help for managers and 
employees in evaluating the extent to which their 
organisational units are acting in accordance with the Novo 
Nordisk Way, ie the degree to which we are ‘walking the talk’. 
The Essentials are helpful in identifying actions which 
business units can take to further align processes and 
procedures with the thinking and values that characterise the 
Novo Nordisk Way.

•   We create value by having a patient-centred business 

approach.

•   We set ambitious goals and strive for excellence.

•   We are accountable for our financial, environmental and 

social performance.

•   We provide innovation to the benefit of our stakeholders.

•   We build and maintain good relations with our key 

stakeholders.

•   We are open and honest, ambitious and accountable, and 

•   We treat everyone with respect.

treat everyone with respect.

•   We offer opportunities for our people to realise their 

potential.

•   We never compromise on quality and business ethics.

Every day we must make difficult choices, always keeping in 
mind what is best for patients, our employees and our 
shareholders in the long run.

It’s the Novo Nordisk Way.

•   We focus on personal performance and development.

•   We have a healthy and engaging working environment.

•   We optimise the way we work and strive for simplicity.

•   We never compromise on quality and business ethics.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     23

 
Pipeline overview

In 2010, significant progress was made throughout Novo Nordisk’s 
clinical development pipeline. This overview illustrates key 
development activities, including entries into the pipeline and 
progression of development compounds.

See more at novonordisk.com/investors/rd_pipeline/rd_pipeline.asp 
and clinicaltrials.gov.

Phase 1
Studies in a small group of healthy volunteers, and sometimes 
patients, usually between 10 and 100, to investigate how the body 
handles new medication and establish maximum tolerated dose.

Phase 2
Testing a drug at various dose levels in a larger group of patients 
to learn about its effect on the condition and its side effects.

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Therapy area

Indication

Compound

Description

Diabetes care

Type 1 and 2 
diabetes

Type 1 and 2 
diabetes

Degludec

Ultra-long-acting basal insulin. Enrolment in the phase 3a programme completed
in June 2010. First phase 3a study results announced in October 2010.

DegludecPlus

Ultra-long-acting basal insulin with a bolus boost. Enrolment in the phase 3a programme 
completed in June 2010. First phase 3a study results announced in August 2010.

Type 2 diabetes

Semaglutide

Once-weekly GLP-1 analogue. Phase 3 initiation was postponed in June
2010 pending a long-acting portfolio development strategy decision.

Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes

NN9068

GLP-1 and basal insulin combination. Phase 1 studies are ongoing.

Type 1 and 2 
diabetes

Type 1 and 2 
diabetes

NN1218

NN1952

Type 2 diabetes NN9924

Ultra-fast-acting insulin analogue. First phase 1
studies initiated during the second quarter of 2010.

Fast-acting oral insulin analogue. First phase 1
study completed during the fourth quarter of 2010.

Long-acting oral GLP-1 analogue. First phase 1
study initiated in the fi rst quarter of 2010.

Obesity

Obesity

Liraglutide

Once-daily GLP-1 analogue. First phase 3a study completed during the third quarter 
of 2010. The remaining phase 3a studies are expected to be initiated mid-2011.

Biopharmaceuticals

Congenital 
FXIII defi ciency

NN1841

Recombinant coagulation factor XIII. Phase 3a study completed during the second quarter 
of 2010. Regulatory submission in the US and EU is expected in the fi rst half of 2011.

Haemophilia A

NN7008

Recombinant coagulation factor VIII. Phase 3 studies ongoing throughout 2010.

Haemophilia 
with inhibitors

Haemophilia 
with inhibitors

NN1731

NN7128

Fast-acting recombinant coagulation factor VIIa analogue. Phase 2 studies completed 
during the second quarter of 2010. Phase 3 is expected to be initiated mid-2011.

Long-acting recombinant coagulation factor VIIa
derivative. Phase 2 trial ongoing throughout 2010.

Haemophilia/
haemostasis

Cardiac surgery

NN1810

Recombinant coagulation factor XIII. Phase 2 trial ongoing throughout 2010.

Haemophilia B

NN7999

Long-acting recombinant coagulation factor IX derivative. Phase 1 trial is ongoing.

Haemophilia 
with inhibitors

NN7129

Subcutaneous long-acting recombinant coagulation factor VIIa derivative.
Phase 1 study completed during the second quarter of 2010.

Haemophilia A

NN7088

Long-acting recombinant coagulation factor VIII derivative.
Phase 1 study initiated during the third quarter of 2010.

Haemophilia

NN7415

Anti-tissue factor pathway inhibitor. Phase 1 initiated during the fourth quarter of 2010.

Rheumatoid 
arthritis

Rheumatoid 
arthritis

Rheumatoid 
arthritis

Rheumatoid 
arthritis

Anti-NKG2d

Humanised recombinant monoclonal antibody.
Phase 2a study initiated during the third quarter of 2010.

Anti-IL-20

Anti-C5aR

Anti-IL-21

Humanised recombinant monoclonal antibody. Phase 1 completed in the fourth 
quarter 2010. Phase 2a study is expected to be initiated during the fi rst half of 2011.

Humanised recombinant monoclonal antibody.
First phase 1 study completed during the second quarter of 2010.

Humanised recombinant monoclonal antibody.
Phase 1 study initiated during the third quarter of 2010.

Infl ammation

24     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
Phase 2a
Pilot clinical trials to evaluate efficacy (and safety) in selected 
populations of patients.

Phase 3a
Trials conducted after efficacy of the medicine is demonstrated, 
but prior to regulatory submission.

Phase 2b
Well controlled trials to evaluate efficacy (and safety) in patients 
with the disease. Sometimes referred to as pivotal trials.

Phase 3b
Clinical trials conducted after regulatory submission, but prior to 
the medicine’s approval and launch.

Phase 3
Studies in large groups of patients worldwide comparing the new 
medication with a commonly used drug or placebo for both safety 
and efficacy in order to establish its risk–benefit relationship.

Filed/regulatory approval
A New Drug Application is submitted for review by various 
government regulatory agencies.

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Intended clinical benefi t

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Filed/regulatory 
approval

Long-acting basal insulin with duration of action
of 24 hours and an improved safety profi le.

A soluble fi xed combination of fast-acting and long-acting insulin
combining 24-hour basal insulin coverage with a distinct meal peak.

Provide the pharmacological actions of a GLP-1 analogue with fewer injections.

Combination of a basal insulin and a GLP-1 analogue intended to
combine the benefi ts of the two hormones in a single preparation.

Fast-acting insulin for improvement of glycaemic control during a meal.

Insulin delivered as a tablet.

A GLP-1 analogue delivered as a tablet.

Sustainable weight loss for people with obesity,
including those at risk of developing diabetes.

Prophylactic treatment of people with FXIII congenital defi ciency.

Prevention and treatment of bleeds in people with haemophilia A.

Effective and sustained resolution of bleeds in people with haemophilia
and inhibitors, reducing the need for treatment and the time to pain relief.

Prophylactic treatment of people with haemophilia and inhibitors.

Intended to avoid allogenic blood transfusions in low- to medium-risk
patients undergoing cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass.

Routine prophylaxis and treatment of bleeds for people with haemophilia B.

Subcutaneous administration of long-acting treatment for
haemophilia patients with inhibitors to other factor replacements.

Routine prophylaxis and treatment of bleeds for people with haemophilia A.

Novel mechanism of action intended to improve treatment outcomes
in patients who do not respond adequately to existing treatments.

Novel mechanism of action intended to improve treatment outcomes
in patients who do not respond adequately to existing treatments.

Novel mechanism of action intended to improve treatment outcomes
in patients who do not respond adequately to existing treatments.

Novel mechanism of action intended to improve treatment outcomes
in patients who do not respond adequately to existing treatments.

Novel mechanism of action intended to improve treatment outcomes
in patients who do not respond adequately to existing treatments.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     25

 
Novo Nordisk at a glance

Novo Nordisk is a world leader in diabetes care and has a leading 
position in haemophilia treatment. We also provide growth 
hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy and have 
development projects targeting inflammation, obesity and the 
full spectrum of rare bleeding disorders. Our more than 30,000 
employees work in 74 countries.

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•   Headquarters and corporate hubs

•  Production sites

  Ain-Allah, Dely Brahim, Algeria
  Bagsværd, Denmark
  Chartres, France
  Clayton, North Carolina, US
  Gentofte, Denmark
  Hillerød, Denmark
  Hjørring, Denmark
  Kalundborg, Denmark
  Koriyama, Japan
  Køge, Denmark
  Montes Claros, Brazil
  Måløv, Denmark
  Tianjin, China
  Værløse, Denmark

•  Affiliates

•  Representative offices

  Bangalore, India
  Beijing, China
  Copenhagen, Denmark
  Princeton, New Jersey, US
  Tokyo, Japan
  Zürich, Switzerland

•   Regional and business

area offices

•   Research and

development facilities

  Bagsværd, Denmark
  Beijing, China
  Gentofte, Denmark
  Hillerød, Denmark
  Måløv, Denmark
  Princeton, New Jersey, US
  Seattle, Washington, US

•   Regional clinical, medical

and regulatory affairs centres

  Beijing, China
  Princeton, New Jersey, US
  Tokyo, Japan
  Zürich, Switzerland

26     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

North America

Employees:
4,457

Sales:
39% of total sales

Insulin volume share:
42% of the total market

Europe

Employees:
17,752

Sales:
31% of total sales

Insulin volume share:
53% of the total market

Modern insulin volume share:
37% of the segment

Modern insulin volume share:
51% of the segment

 
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International Operations

Hereof Region China*

Japan & Korea

Employees:
7,279

Sales:
21% of total sales

Employees:
3,511

Sales:
7% of total sales

Employees:
995

Sales:
9% of total sales

Insulin volume share:
57% of the total market

Insulin volume share:
63% of the total Chinese market

Insulin volume share:
63% of the total market

Modern insulin volume share:
54% of the segment

Modern insulin volume share:
70% of the segment in China

Modern insulin volume share:
56% of the segment

*  China was part of International Operations in 2010 but became a separate region on 1 January 2011.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     27

 
“ Our dedication to
quality is important to
ensure patient safety.”
Gao Lei

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Gao Lei is a Formulation Professional and works in the 
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aspects of the production process.

28     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
Diabetes care

Novo Nordisk has pioneered many therapeutic breakthroughs in 
diabetes care and today diabetes remains our primary focus. The 
company is the diabetes care market leader with 51% of the total 
insulin market and 46% of the modern insulin (insulin analogue) 
market, based on volume, at year-end.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder affecting the way our bodies use 
digested food for growth and energy. Diabetes causes as many 
deaths as HIV/AIDS, disables millions and negatively affects the 
global economy. The International Diabetes Federation estimates 
that the number of people with diabetes will increase from 285 
million today to 438 million in 2030.

Even in countries with strong healthcare systems, the challenge 
of keeping diabetes under control is significant. A survey conducted 
in eight countries with 3,000 respondents during 2010 found that 
a third of those surveyed miss injections of prescribed insulin doses 
and that nine out of 10 wish that insulin could be dosed less than 
once a day to effectively manage their diabetes.1

We are dedicated to Changing Diabetes® and improving quality 
of life for people with diabetes. We do this by developing innovative 
treatments intended to serve individual needs and covering all 
stages of diabetes. In addition, we work with governments, health-
care providers, patient organisations and people with diabetes to 
improve standards of care throughout the world.

Modern insulin
portfolio

By engineering proteins we have created a portfolio of modern 
insulins that offer options for individual treatment needs to achieve 
and maintain improved blood glucose control safely.

Treatment guidelines for diabetes call for different approaches at 
different stages.2 For type 2 diabetes, insulin may be introduced 
following lifestyle changes and initiation of tablet or GLP-1 therapy. 
As a third step, treatment guidelines recommend transition to 
intensive insulin therapy to maintain glucose targets.

Maintaining tight glucose control is associated with fewer serious 
complications and better treatment outcomes. For insulin initiation, 
treatment guidelines call for including either a long-acting basal 
insulin or, in parts of the world, a modern premix insulin with dual 
release to cover both mealtime and basal requirements. Insulin 
treatment can be intensified in two ways, either with a modern 
premix insulin or by adding a rapid-acting modern insulin to the 
long-acting basal insulin at mealtimes.

Our modern insulin portfolio is unique in providing a full range 
of individualised treatment options for people with diabetes, 
accommodating different treatment norms and capabilities world-
wide. Treatment may also vary because people are different. In 
some Asian groups, for instance, pancreatic beta cells have been 
found to be more fragile, and the need for insulin in people with 
these characteristics may therefore be different.

Novo Nordisk’s modern insulin portfolio includes:

•   Levemir®, a soluble, long-acting modern insulin for once-daily 

use for type 2 diabetes. When it is time to begin insulin, Levemir® 
provides glucose control with a positive weight profile. Weight 
maintenance is important because insulin has long been 
associated with weight gain, a barrier to beginning insulin 
treatment according to diabetes experts.

•   NovoRapid® (NovoLog® in the US), the world’s most widely 
used rapid-acting insulin for use at mealtimes. For people with 
type 2 diabetes who have uncontrolled blood glucose levels 
while on a basal insulin, intensification with NovoRapid®/
NovoLog® to a basal-bolus regimen helps attain and maintain 
treatment goals.

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•   NovoMix® 70/50/30 (NovoLog® Mix 70/30 in the US) is a dual-
release modern insulin that covers both mealtime and basal 
requirements.

During 2010, Novo Nordisk’s long-acting insulin Levemir® joined 
NovoRapid® and NovoMix® in achieving blockbuster status, with 
sales exceeding 1 billion US dollars for the preceding 12-month 
period. NovoRapid® achieved sales of 2 billion dollars in a one-year 
period, becoming a double blockbuster.

NovoRapid® is the world’s most prescribed rapid-acting insulin, used 
by people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is also approved 
for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

All Novo Nordisk’s modern insulins on the market have been 
investigated in many randomised, controlled trials and in obser-
vational studies, and they are also monitored for any safety signals 
through rigorous post-marketing safety surveillance.

Key events in diabetes 2010

•   Novo Nordisk acknowledged as having the ‘Best 

Diabetes Care Pipeline’.3

•   Levemir® achieves blockbuster status.

•   NovoRapid®/NovoLog® achieves double blockbuster 

status.

•   Victoza® gains GLP-1 leadership and expands GLP-1 

market in key markets.

•   Phase 3 results for first of three obesity trials for 

liraglutide.

•   Phase 3 results for Degludec and DegludecPlus.

•   First human dose results for oral insulin and oral GLP-1.

•   Changing Diabetes® Leadership Forums facilitate 
change in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East
and North Africa.

•   NovoDose™, the first ever mobile dosing application, 

launched for iPhone and iPad in the US.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     29

 
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Continuous innovation for
improved blood glucose control
We are developing two new-generation insulins, Degludec and 
DegludecPlus, designed to have an ultra-long action to improve 
blood glucose control while reducing the risk of hypoglycaemia. 
These insulins also provide greater dosing flexibility compared to 
currently used insulins.

In January 2011, we completed the phase 3a programme for 
Degludec and DegludecPlus. The data generated from 17 
randomised, controlled treat-to-target trials in more than 10,000 
type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients from more than 40 countries, 
consistently revealed benefits related to efficacy, safety and con-
venience of both Degludec and DegludecPlus. The trials mostly 
used insulin analogues as comparator products and the key results 
are provided in this section. We expect to submit applications for 
regulatory approval of Degludec and DegludecPlus in the US and 
Europe in the second half of 2011.

In a 52-week trial comparing Degludec versus insulin glargine in 
type 2 diabetes, 1,030 insulin naive people with type 2 diabetes 
were randomised 3 to 1 to either Degludec or insulin glargine once 
daily in addition to metformin with or without a DPP-IV inhibitor. 
Degludec effectively improved long-term glycaemic control, sub-
stantially decreasing blood glucose from a baseline of 8.2% to 
around 7% in both patient groups. For Degludec, the fasting plasma 
glucose level was statistically significantly lower than observed in 
the comparator group. Degludec also showed a significantly lower 
risk of hypoglycaemia compared to insulin glargine. Specifically, 
the rate of confirmed night-time hypoglycaemic events was statis-
tically significantly lower in the group treated with Degludec, with 
a reduction of more than 35% compared to the insulin glargine 
group. Degludec demonstrated a good safety and tolerability profile 
and there were no apparent differences between the treatment 
groups with respect to adverse events and standard safety 
parameters. 

In two 52-week studies comparing Degludec to insulin glargine in 
basal-bolus treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, significant 
advantages were demonstrated with Degludec. In the study in 
type 2 diabetes, both treatment arms effectively lowered blood 

DKK billion

Diabetes care 
Sales development

■ Modern insulins
■ Human insulins
■ Protein-related products
■ Oral antidiabetic
products (OAD)

■ Victoza®

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

45.7

37.5

33.4

30.5

27.9

0

10

20

30

40

50

Modern insulins 
Sales development

■ NovoRapid®
■ NovoMix®
■ Levemir®

DKK billion

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

26.6

21.5

17.3

14.0

10.8

0

6

12

18

24

30

30     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

glucose levels to approximately 7.1%. Degludec showed a lower 
risk of overall hypoglycaemia compared to insulin glargine and an 
even greater reduction in night-time hypoglycaemia. In the study 
with type 1 diabetes, Degludec and insulin glargine produced 
a similar reduction in blood glucose levels. Again, a significant 
reduction in night-time hypoglycemia was observed with Degludec. 

In a 26-week basal-bolus trial comparing Degludec with insulin 
glargine in type 1 diabetes, a regimen with dosing intervals alter-
nating between eight and 40 hours for the administration of 
Degludec was compared to either Degludec at the evening meal, 
or insulin glargine. All patients used NovoRapid® as bolus insulin 
with meals. The flexible dosing arm of Degludec demonstrated 
statistically significant reduction in night-time hypoglycaemia of 
around 40% when compared to the insulin glargine group. 

The clinical programme also included two studies in type 2 diabetes 
exploring three-times-weekly administration of Degludec compared 
to a daily dose of insulin glargine. Three-times-weekly admini-
stration of Degludec effectively lowered blood glucose in both 
studies, however, it did not meet pre-specified regulatory require-
ments. These studies did confirm the ultra-long action profile of 
Degludec.

DegludecPlus, the first prandial basal insulin combination containing 
ultra-long-acting Degludec and insulin aspart (NovoRapid®), was 
also tested in phase 3a studies. In one six month study, twice-
daily DegludecPlus was compared to twice-daily NovoMix® 30 in 
people with late-stage type 2 diabetes. DegludecPlus effectively 
improved long-term glycaemic control by reducing blood glucose 
to just above 7%. Despite similar blood glucose reductions to 
NovoMix® 30, the DegludecPlus treated group demonstrated 
a significantly lower risk of hypoglycaemia including a more than 
70% reduction in night-time hypoglycaemia. The DegludecPlus 
patients also had a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose, 
achieved target control faster and required a lower total insulin dose.

Innovative devices and tools for physicians
During 2010, we launched the first ever mobile insulin dosing guide 
for physicians, NovoDose™, in the US. NovoDose™, an application 
available on iTunes or as a free download at novodose.com/app, 
lets physicians look up dosing guidelines and blood glucose goals 
for people with diabetes from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The 
application, only available to those who identify themselves as 
healthcare professionals, also provides important safety information 
on Novo Nordisk products.

This new technology is part of a trend of physicians using hand-
held devices when administering treatment. NovoDose™ will be 
introduced in other markets in 2011.

FlexPen®, the world’s most widely used prefilled insulin pen, is 
available for Levemir®, NovoRapid®/NovoLog® and NovoMix®/
NovoLog® Mix. It eliminates the need to manually load insulin into 
a delivery device or use a separate vial and syringe. Once in use, 
the prefilled pen may be stored at room temperature for 14 days 
or more, which can suit flexible lifestyles. FlexPen® is made of 
a recyclable plastic, which has the potential to reduce environ-
mental impact.

Our newest durable device, NovoPen Echo®, has been designed 
with children in mind. It comes in two colours and features dosing 
with half-unit increments, suitable for children requiring small insulin 
doses. It features a simple memory function that allows the user 
to see the size of the last dose and the time since injection. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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NovoPen Echo® was preferred by 80% of the participants in a 
usability study that included children with diabetes, their parents 
and healthcare professionals when compared to other insulin pens 
for children. NovoPen Echo® was launched in Canada, Denmark, 
Finland, Israel and Sweden in 2010 and will be launched in additional 
markets in 2011.

We continue to focus on making the most preferred treatment 
devices even better. Next-generation devices in our pipeline aim 
to further enhance the competitiveness of our products.

Victoza®: innovative 
early treatment

Victoza®, or liraglutide, is the first and only human Glucagon-Like 
Peptide (GLP-1) analogue with 97% similarity to the natural gut 
hormone. Like natural GLP-1, once-daily Victoza® works by stimu-
lating the beta cells in the pancreas to release insulin only when 
blood sugar levels are high. 

Until recently, most available treatments for diabetes involved trade-
offs for people with diabetes and physicians. While effective at 
lowering blood glucose, they carried the risk of inducing low blood 
sugar episodes (hypoglycaemia) and weight gain.

New GLP-1 therapies are a major innovation in the treatment of 
type 2 diabetes because they lower glucose while having a low risk 
of triggering hypoglycaemia, and in most people with diabetes 
they also support weight loss. In type 2 diabetes, the ability of the 
pancreas to release insulin in response to glucose is impaired. GLP-1 
therapies help address this defect by directly acting on the pancreas.

Victoza®, the only once-daily GLP-1, can be used by adults with 
type 2 diabetes who are unable to achieve blood glucose goals 
with lifestyle changes and metformin. Treatment guidelines now 
call for the use of GLP-1 as an option for early treatment of diabetes. 
GLP-1 is a hormone from the human gut involved in glucose 
regulation. First available in Europe in 2009, Victoza® was launched 
in the US and Japan during 2010 and is now available in 24 markets. 
Victoza® is steadily capturing and expanding the market for GLP-1 
treatment.6

Changing Diabetes®

For millions of people living with diabetes today innovative 
treatments are a privilege they cannot enjoy because healthcare 
and treatment options are either insufficient or not available. With 
the epidemic growth in diabetes, happening particularly fast in low-
income and emerging economies and hitting vulnerable groups all 
over the world the hardest, this presents a huge social challenge. 

As a world leader in diabetes care, we have a responsibility to reach 
out beyond those people who already benefit from our products 
and the support we offer to them, and to do everything we can 
to ultimately defeat diabetes. This implies extending the scope of 
our efforts to people who do not have access to proper diabetes 
care as well as to people at risk of getting diabetes. Changing 
Diabetes® is our promise to improve health and quality of life and 
to actively contribute to a society that provides equal and non-
discriminatory support for people with chronic conditions.

Our Changing Diabetes® ambitions are to:

•   provide better treatment and care for all people with diabetes

•   raise public awareness of the need to take action on diabetes 

•   secure more resources to prevent and detect diabetes.

Better treatment and care for all
We believe that by finding better methods of prevention, detection 
and treatment we will be able to defeat diabetes. To do so, we must 
begin by gaining a better understanding of people with diabetes 
and their needs.

The second Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs (DAWN™) study 
represents one of the most significant new initiatives from Novo 
Nordisk to learn from people with diabetes. A follow-up to our 
landmark study in 2001, this study will be conducted over the next 
few years to assess the needs of people with diabetes globally with 
an aim to improve health literacy and support effective selfmanage-
ment. The largest study of its kind, the new DAWN™ study will 
establish a new global understanding and awareness of the needs 
of people with diabetes and those who care for them. The initiative 
will build on the lessons learned and the international networks 
developed in our initial, ongoing DAWN™ programme.

Expanding
access to care

Every person has a fundamental right to health. This is stated in the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is the underlying premise 
of our efforts to improve availability, accessibility, affordability and 
quality of care. We also seek to contribute to the UN Millennium 
Development Goals, which set specific targets to overcome by 2015 
some of the major challenges facing the world, including reducing 
child mortality, improving maternal health and combating diseases 
threatening social and economic development.

In addition to providing medicines to serve individual needs, we work 
to improve accessibility and affordability for patients. We do this 
through sustainable partnerships with governments and NGOs to 
strengthen healthcare system capacity and to reverse the diabetes 
pandemic, which is imposing a double burden on fragile economies 
in low-income and emerging economies.

Addressing affordability barriers
The cost of therapy still constitutes a significant barrier for better 
healthcare in low-income countries. Through our long-standing 
differential pricing policy we offer insulin to all the least developed 
countries (LDCs), as defined by the United Nations, at a price at or 
below 20% of the average prices for insulin in the western world. 
Novo Nordisk has operations in 34 of the LDCs, and in 2010 either 
governments or non-profit organisations in 33 of these countries 
chose to purchase through this offer. See p 96. Since 2006 the total 
volume of insulin sold in the LDCs has increased steadily, and in 2010 
the volume increased by 30% compared to 2009.

One challenge is that governments’ procurement is subject to 
budget fluctuations. However, offering treatment at reduced prices 
does not always ensure that end users benefit as intended. To 
improve the impact of our differential pricing policy, we have con-
ducted pilot projects in eight LDCs. In 2010 we recruited sales re-

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     31

 
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presentatives dedicated to addressing barriers throughout the supply 
chain. We also carried out independent quality audits in Ghana, 
Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda to improve stock manage ment and 
distribution and facilitate access to insulin in rural areas. 

Providing treatment for children in poor countries 
In most developing countries there are no existing facilities for 
treating children with diabetes. Children with type 1 diabetes have 
high mortality rates, with life expectancies of less than one year in 
some countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Our Changing Diabetes® in 
Children programme provides the necessary medical and laboratory 
equipment, organises training of healthcare professionals, puts in 
place patient education and creates systems for adequate moni-
toring and follow-up. In addition, insulin and diabetes supplies 
are being provided free of charge for the duration of the pro-
gramme.

With an ambition to reach 10,000 children with diabetes within 
five years, we made a 25-million US dollar commitment in 2008. 
In 2010, we enrolled about 800 children and established 13 new 
clinics under the Changing Diabetes® in Children programme, which 
now provides treatment for more than 1,300 children. 

To help improve diagnosis and treatment of diabetes in children, 
we have developed a basic training manual for healthcare pro-
fessionals. This work has been informed by consultations with key 
stakeholders from African countries and in collaboration with the 
International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD). 
The manual is available free of charge at 
changingdiabetesaccess.com.

Improving healthcare system capacity
We contribute to strengthening the capacity of healthcare systems 
by training healthcare providers to diagnose and treat diabetes and 
its complications. Since 2002, Novo Nordisk has either trained or 
sponsored training for 1.2 million healthcare providers. 

In 2010, we commissioned an external evaluation of the World 
Partner Project (WPP) activities in Bangladesh and Tanzania during 
2001–2009. The report shows how the WPP has resulted in active 
and productive partnerships with other major organisations 
involved in diabetes care. For example, in Bangladesh the develop-
ment and deployment of a distance learning programme for 
doctors has resulted in a significant expansion of capacity, with 
3,600 healthcare professionals trained in diabetology. Today the 
programme continues as a self-sustainable cooperation with a local 
faculty and the development of an accredited physician programme 
with the ambition of extending care to other rural areas in the 
country. 

Our support for healthcare capacity building includes our long-term 
financial commitment to the World Diabetes Foundation, including 
a donation of 69 million Danish kroner in 2010 (see p 87). This 
independent and non-profit foundation, set up by Novo Nordisk 
in 2001, supports the prevention and treatment of diabetes in the 
developing world. To date it has funded 253 projects in 96 countries. 
For more information about the foundation, including its annual 
report, see worlddiabetesfoundation.org.

32     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

Public awareness
and action

To change the course of the diabetes pandemic and improve quality 
of life for those with diabetes, we are working to put diabetes on 
public health agendas by building partnerships around a shared 
vision of Changing Diabetes® and implementing the UN Resolution 
on diabetes. Through 39 Diabetes Leadership Forums and regional 
or national round-tables in 77 countries since 2005, we have 
engaged more than 7,500 key stakeholders to date, helping to 
reach consensus about what it will take to address the current 
challenges and change diabetes.

In 2010, we turned our focus to two regions where the diabetes 
pandemic is increasing rapidly: sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle 
East and Northern Africa (MENA). 

A Diabetes Leadership Forum Africa 2010 focused on the social and 
economic challenges related to the growing burden of diabetes in 
sub-Saharan Africa. Once a rare disease, diabetes impacts more than 
12 million people in the region today and its prevalence is expected 
to double during the next 20 years. The meeting in Johannesburg, 
attended by more than 260 government representatives, international 
organisations, patient associations, non-governmental organisations, 
private sector, academic institutions and healthcare professionals 
from 32 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, was hosted by the 
Department of Health of the Republic of South Africa and the World 
Diabetes Foundation, and supported by the International Diabetes 
Federation. Health ministers and senior ministerial representatives 
adopted a joint statement calling for concrete actions to strengthen 
health systems and address non-communicable diseases, including 
diabetes, in sub-Saharan African countries. We sponsored and 
co-organised the Forum.

In the MENA region diabetes is today estimated to affect more than 
26 million people, and this number is set to double by 2030. At the 
MENA Diabetes Leadership Forum in Dubai, more than 400 
decision-makers gathered to find solutions to the growing burden 
of diabetes. Delegates represented international and regional 
organisations, media, experts and members of the diabetes 
community from 22 countries in the region. The Forum resulted in 
the adoption of the Dubai Declaration on Diabetes and Chronic 
Non-Communicable Diseases in the Middle East and Northern Africa 
Region. The Forum was hosted by the UAE Ministry of Health, the 
executive board of the Health Ministers’ Council for Gulf Cooperation 
Council States, the World Diabetes Foundation and the World Bank, 
and was organised and sponsored by Novo Nordisk. 

In conjunction with the Forum, the Changing Diabetes® World Tour 
arrived in the United Arab Emirates. Since 2006, it has travelled 
across five continents to raise awareness of diabetes. A new mobile 
unit was added in 2010, developed in partnership with the Steno 
Diabetes Center, offering high-quality screening and information 
about diabetes to the general public. The objective is to combine 
awareness, screening and research in order to drive policy change 
towards early detection of diabetes. Screening data will contribute to 
a better understanding of diabetes and inform recommendations for 
promoting early detection and intervention.

On World Diabetes Day, 14 November, more than 2.6 million 
people in 57 countries were engaged in different Novo Nordisk-
sponsored activities, including screening and educational 
programmes to increase awareness.

 
“ I feel secure, knowing what
is happening with my body.
I can control it and I know
that these babies aren’t
going to be so affected
because I’m on treatment.”
Celeste Smith

Celeste Smith of Cape Town, South Africa, was 
diagnosed with diabetes while pregnant with twins and is 
being treated with tablets and insulin. She is proud of the 
lifestyle changes that she and her husband have made to 
manage her condition.

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Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     33

 
Promoting workplace health
Through the NovoHealth workplace health programme, Novo 
Nordisk promotes and supports healthier lifestyles for employees. 
The NovoHealth programme promotes and supports healthy 
living as a means to prevent type 2 diabetes and other lifestyle-
related conditions. It now reaches more than 80% of our employees 
and covers four global standards, ensuring that all employees 
work in a smoke-free work environment, have access to healthy 
food in the workplace, are supported in being physically active 
and are offered an individual health check every second year. In 
2010, we were among the founding partners of the workplace 
Wellness Alliance, initiated by the World Economic Forum and 
launched at its annual meeting in Davos in January 2011. By making 
tools and better practices available, the Wellness Alliance makes it 
easy to offer workplace health and wellness programmes to 
employees.

We also raise awareness about the importance of regular physical 
activity and healthy eating in preventing type 2 diabetes through 
our National Changing Diabetes® Programmes in many countries 
around the world. In Canada, more than 100,000 students in six 
provinces have participated in the Everyone Jump…Kids Changing 
Diabetes® programme. A cross-curricular resource designed by 
teachers, the programme was introduced by Novo Nordisk in 
2005 to support healthy living and type 2 diabetes awareness.

Focus on healthy pregnancies
In recent years we have found substantial evidence that when 
women have or develop diabetes during pregnancy, their offspring 
will also be at significantly higher risk. This, we believe, holds a 
key to addressing diabetes at its roots: if we can prevent diabetes 
during pregnancy, we may also prevent future generations from 
developing this chronic condition. 

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Prevention and
early detection 

As we continue to develop better methods of preventing, detecting 
and treating diabetes, we are also pursuing our dream and our 
hope of ultimately finding a cure. We make substantial investments 
in diabetes research, which is the foundation of our activities. The 
resources of our research units are complemented by a large 
international network, built over the last 10 years, of academic 
institutions, clinical research centres and technology providers. 
Much of this research into how diabetes could one day be controlled 
by regeneration or reconstitution of the vital beta cells of the 
pancreas is taking place today at the Hagedorn Research Institute 
in Denmark, which is a fully integrated part of the Diabetes 
Research Unit of Novo Nordisk.

Support for best practice
Our global campaign drives awareness of the personal and 
societal risks of diabetes, and the importance of prevention and 
early diagnosis and treatment. Through our National Changing 
Diabetes® programmes, we promote better education of healthcare 
professionals and wider availability of screening for diabetes to 
help save lives and reduce economic costs long term.

Ask.Screen.Know is an educational programme that Novo Nordisk 
launched in 2009 to support diabetes screening in the US for people 
in the Medicare programme and at risk of diabetes. Medicare began 
offering free diabetes screening services to those at risk of diabetes 
in 2005, but it is estimated that less than 10% of those eligible have 
been screened. We encourage physicians to have at-risk patients 
screened and speak with patients about their blood sugar numbers 
and making healthy lifestyle changes. See AskScreenKnow.com and 
the Ask.Screen.Know page on Facebook.

In 2010, Novo Nordisk began working with doctors in the US to 
create awareness and understanding of programmes being run 
by the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance, a national 
partnership that provides access to community- and evidence-
based interventions to help prevent and control diabetes, 
pre-stages to diabetes and obesity. This initiative helps prevent 
people at risk getting diabetes through support for lifestyle 
changes, including healthy eating and increased activity, and 
education, including support from trained pharmacists. The 
programmes have been launched in six US states and will roll out 
nationally through 2012.

34     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

The World Health Organization estimates the worldwide prevalence 
of gestational diabetes to be 3–15% of all pregnancies, but figures 
from India and the United Arab Emirates put prevalence rates as 
high as 18–22%. Half of the women newly diagnosed with diabetes 
each year have previously had gestational diabetes. Children born 
to women with gestational diabetes mellitus also have a substantially 
increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Many cases of 
gestational diabetes go undiagnosed, and most are in low- and 
middle-income countries, where women often have poorer nutrition 
and access to healthcare.

If we can prevent diabetes 
during pregnancy, we may also 
prevent future generations 
from developing this chronic 
condition.

Gestational diabetes can be controlled through proper diet and 
regular exercise, but some women with gestational diabetes require 
insulin treatment to normalise their blood glucose levels in order 
to avoid complications in the infant. Gestational diabetes usually 
goes away after the child is born, but 5–10% of women with 
gestational diabetes are found to have type 2 diabetes after preg-
nancy. In addition, women who have had gestational diabetes 
have a 20–50% chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 
5–10 years.

Our task is to spread understanding of how diabetes in pregnancy 
needs to be identified, and how it can be controlled with lifestyle 
advice. In particular, complications to the baby can largely be 
avoided if the mother’s blood glucose levels are controlled before 
delivery. In up to 90% of cases, optimum control can be obtained 
by diet and physical activity alone. Lifestyle education can encourage 
behaviour changes to prevent future disease in the mother and 
her child.

We have therefore begun activities to raise awareness of the impact 
of diabetes in pregnancy, address knowledge gaps, support 
community-based maternal health programmes and advocate for 

 
sustainable change, which ultimately will increase access to diabetes 
screening, treatment and lifestyle education.

We have encouraging results from on-the-ground experience. 
Since 2007, the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has screened all 
pregnant women for gestational diabetes and provided free 
doses of NovoRapid®, approved for use during pregnancy. 
Positive results have led to the inclusion of screening guidelines in 
state policy and the establishment of national treatment guidelines. 
In 2011, a long-term study will be launched, with support from 
Novo Nordisk, to track the women diagnosed and treated and the 
children born to them, with the aim of improving understanding 
of the long-term consequences of gestational diabetes.

Building on this experience, we are now launching partnerships 
to address diabetes in pregnancy in Nicaragua and Colombia.

UN high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases
In recognition of the increasing global impact and challenge 
of non-communicable diseases, the United Nations General 
Assembly will hold a high-level meeting on the prevention and 
control of non-communicable diseases in September 2011.

We welcome this initiative, which reflects a recognition of the 
significant negative impact of unaddressed chronic conditions, 
and are committed to supporting the UN process to focus on 
driving change in healthcare systems. We do this through partner-
ships, our own programmes and engagement at global, regional 
and national levels. 

In 2010, we pledged to provide the World Diabetes Foundation 
with an additional 25 million Danish kroner to be used for activities 
relating to the high-level meeting in 2011 and 2012. There have 
been 27 such meetings in the history of the UN, and HIV/AIDS is 
the only disease to have been a summit topic. The summit has the 
potential to mobilise action for a new type of collaboration that 
pursues a life-cycle approach to healthcare.

1.  Global Attitudes of Patients and Physicians in Insulin Therapy (GAPP) Survey, Novo Nordisk, 2010.
2.  In October 2008, a new set of treatment guidelines for type 2 diabetes was issued by a panel 
of experts from the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the 
Study of Diabetes.

3.  The January 2010 issue of R&D Directions magazine included Novo Nordisk in its ‘Top 10 
Pipelines’ list. Novo Nordisk was recognised for the ‘Best Diabetes Care Pipeline’ for the 
second year in a row.

4.  Heise T et al. Insulin degludec: Less pharmacodynamic variability than insulin glargine under 
steady state conditions. Poster presentation, Poster 971, presented at European Association 
for the Study of Diabetes, Scientifi c Sessions 2010, Stockholm, Sweden, 2010.

5.  Mathieu C et al. Insulin degludec, a New Generation Ultra-long acting Insulin, used Once 

Daily or Three Times Weekly in People with Type 2 Diabetes: Comparison to Insulin Glargine. 
Oral presentation no. 4, presented at European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), 
Scientifi c Sessions 2010, Stockholm, Sweden, September 2010.

6.  IMS, weekly NPA data.

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Improvements
in diabetes care

Interview with Kåre Schultz,
Novo Nordisk’s chief operating officer

How does Novo Nordisk’s diabetes care
business benefit people with diabetes?
For decades, our company has developed insulins for people 
with diabetes to help them live better lives and have better 
control of their diabetes. Ninety years ago, diabetes was 
inevitably fatal. Today, diabetes can be managed and, by 
developing improvements to diabetes care, we can help 
people with diabetes live longer, healthier lives.

Because modern insulins are made with protein molecules 
engineered to work longer or faster than naturally occurring 
human insulin, they can make it easier for people with 
diabetes to treat their diabetes and help in managing blood 
glucose levels. NovoRapid®, the world’s most prescribed 
fast-acting insulin, allows people to administer treatment 
with meals, reducing the need for complicated calculations 
and advance planning. Our delivery devices, including 
NovoFine® and NovoTwist® needles, can also contribute 
to improved treatment by reducing pain or inconvenience.

How is Novo Nordisk supporting patients
affected by the diabetes pandemic?
As the diabetes pandemic is increasingly affecting people 
in developing countries, the global reach of our diabetes 
care business also allows us to help more people. We 
estimate that our diabetes care products are used by 
approximately 18 million people. This means that we are 
not only the global market leader in insulin, selling 51% 
based on volume, but we believe that we are also reaching 
roughly half of the people with diabetes who are receiving 
treatment and have been introduced to insulin therapy.

It is obvious that there are more people who are either not 
diagnosed, not treated, or undertreated. While the 
International Diabetes Federation estimates that there are 
nearly 300 million people with diabetes globally, it also 
estimates that only a quarter of that number have been 
diagnosed and are receiving treatment. We therefore 
advocate for better care, train doctors and support 
improvements in healthcare systems. We do this both 
because it helps grow our business and because the need 
for more and better diabetes treatment is real and urgent.

What makes Novo Nordisk the global leader in diabetes care?
We offer a very broad product portfolio, with therapies 
designed for all types and stages of diabetes, and we 
combine this with the broadest geographical reach. Because 
our company was founded to address the medical needs of 
people with diabetes our manufacturing, distribution and 
sales and marketing support for diabetes care are global. 
This includes production facilities in countries where 
diabetes is increasing rapidly such as Brazil and China.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     35

 
“ Archie is an amazing
boy and haemophilia
doesn’t restrict his life.”
Kate Hunter

Kate, of West Sussex, UK, is talking about her three-year-
old son Archie, who is a participant in our guardian™ 
clinical programme. The programme includes a number 
of trials for a new recombinant factor VIII treatment for 
people with haemophilia A.

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36     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

Biopharma-
ceuticals

Our specialised expertise with proteins and our understanding of 
chronic disease are leveraged in our biopharmaceuticals business 
to develop innovative and improved ways to treat haemophilia 
and other rare bleeding disorders, growth hormone deficiency 
and inflammatory diseases.

DKK billion

Biopharmaceuticals
Sales development

■ Haemostasis management

 (NovoSeven®)

■ Growth hormone therapy
■ Hormone replacement

 therapy

■ Other products

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

15.1

13.6

12.2

11.4

10.9

12

0

6

Changing Possibilities 
in Haemophilia®

Commitment to science
In support of our ambition to help people with haemophilia lead 
the lives they desire, we have the broadest pipeline of research 
and development projects in our industry. In addition to improving 
current treatment for people with inhibitors, we are developing 
the next generation of activated recombinant factor VII products 
and expanding our research in haemophilia and other rare 
bleeding disorders.

We are developing compounds targeting faster and more efficient 
treatment of episodic bleedings, long-acting compounds to allow 
less frequent prophylactic infusions and products administered by 
the more convenient subcutaneous route. 

To offer new therapeutic approaches to the prevention and 
treatment of bleeding based on the established efficacy of 
recombinant factor VIIa, we are developing:

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•   a new recombinant factor VIIa, analogue with a faster onset of 
action and the ability to form even stronger clots in a shorter time

Commitment
to haemophilia

Haemophilia is an inherited or acquired bleeding disorder that 
prevents blood from clotting. The 400,000 people worldwide 
living with haemophilia lack, either partially or completely, an 
essential clotting factor needed to form blood clots. Without 
treatment, uncontrolled internal bleeding can cause stiffness, 
pain, severe joint damage and even death.

We developed our factor VIIa product NovoSeven® for the more 
than 4,000 people with haemophilia who have developed inhibitors, 
or antibodies, to their normal treatment. NovoSeven® provides 
effective treatment for rapid control of bleeding episodes and has 
been a major advancement in the treatment of haemo philia. It was 
a significant innovation when launched in 1996 and remains the only 
room-temperature-stable recombinant bypassing agent available 
for people with haemophilia with inhibitors.

NovoSeven® is also the only recombinant medication approved 
for the treatment of bleeding episodes in acquired factor VII 
deficiency and, in Europe, Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia. Due to 
its special properties, 14 years after launch, NovoSeven® achieved 
sales growth of 14% in Danish kroner.

We are continuing to look for ways to make NovoSeven® more 
convenient and more effective. During 2010, a new 8 mg vial was 
approved in the US and Europe. The new size, offered in addition 
to the 1, 2 and 5 mg vials, offers an extra element of convenience 
to initiate the treatment of bleeds faster. In the event of a bleeding 
episode, every second counts. With the availability of the 8 mg vial, 
many people living with haemophilia with inhibitors will need fewer 
vials to stop a bleed. This will allow faster reconstitution and initiation 
of the treatment, possibly resulting in faster bleeding control.

•   a long-acting derivative of recombinant factor VIIa

The same long-acting molecule is also being investigated for 
subcutaneous use. The phase 2 trial for the fast-acting analogue 
was completed in 2010, while the phase 2 trials for the long-acting 
derivative of factor VIIa are ongoing.

During 2010, we also made progress in the development of 
solutions for the broad range of haemophilia and other rare 
bleeding disorders.

Key events in 
biopharmaceuticals in 2010
•   Phase 3 trial results for the first recombinant factor XIII 

analogue to treat congenital factor XIII deficiency.

•   Phase 2 trial results for our fast-acting next-generation 

factor VIIa analogue.

•   Phase 1 trial completed for our long-acting recombinant 
treatment for people with haemophilia B intended for 
prophylactic use.

•   Launch of HERO (Haemophilia Experiences, Results 

and Opportunities), an international initiative exploring 
psychological and social issues in haemophilia.

•   New prefilled Norditropin® FlexPro® for growth 

hormone deficiency with audible click to confirm 
dosing launched in Europe, Japan and the US.

•   New Vagifem® 10μg, the lowest effective dose 

available for the treatment of vaginal atrophy, was 
launched in Canada, Portugal, Scandinavia, the UK 
and the US.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     37

•   For haemophilia A: In order to improve upon existing treatments 
using factor VIII we had to first produce a third-generation factor 
VIII compound. We expect to launch this new recombinant 
treatment within the next few years while we seek to develop 
a longer-acting formulation.

Novo Nordisk was an official sponsor of World Haemophilia Day, 
17 April, in 2010. The designated day, the 21st annual event, 
promoted awareness and understanding of haemophilia. Novo 
Nordisk-sponsored activities were carried out in more than 25 
countries, reaching thousands of people.

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•   For haemophilia B: During 2010, we completed a phase 1, 
proof-of-concept trial for a long-acting recombinant factor 
IX compound intended for once-weekly use.

•   For congenital factor XIII deficiency: The only existing 
treatment option for the 600 people diagnosed with 
congenital factor XIII deficiency is made from human plasma, 
which may involve risk of bloodborne viruses. Our phase 3 
clinical trial for a recombinant factor XIII treatment was 
completed in 2010 and we expect to file for regulatory 
approval in 2011.

Commitment to community
Through our Changing Possibilities in Haemophilia® initiatives we 
seek to partner with physicians, healthcare policy-makers and the 
wider haemophilia community to help build a better tomorrow 
for people with haemophilia. We want to increase understanding 
of haemophilia and improve access to diagnosis, care and 
treatment.

To strengthen our understanding of life with haemophilia, we 
initiated a psychosocial study to determine how to best support 
the needs of people with haemophilia. We presented the 
preliminary findings of HERO (Haemophilia Experiences, Results 
and Opportunities), an international survey into the psychological 
and social effects of haemophilia, at the World Federation of 
Haemophilia Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 2010.

The first phase of the study includes interviews with 150 people 
with haemophilia, caregivers and healthcare professionals in 
seven countries. The initial findings underline the importance of 
psychosocial issues in haemophilia, which include family tensions, 
problems of integration at school, fear of stigmatisation, and 
concerns about integration at work, forming relationships and 
starting a family.

When completed in 2011, the full inquiry will include responses 
from over 1,200 people from 12 countries and will be the largest 
international study into the social and psychological aspects of 
life with haemophilia. More information about HERO is available 
at changingpossibilities.com.

Another Novo Nordisk initiative to better understand the needs 
of people with haemophilia and support caregivers in providing 
education about haemophilia and treatment optimisation – early 
treatment to reduce joint damage – is BRUNO (Being Receptive, 
Understanding the Needs of Others). Activities in 2010 included 
the launch of a children’s book with all royalties donated to the 
Haemophilia Society and the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation, 
and educational materials developed in conjunction with an advisory 
board of nurses.

Through the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Access to Insight 
programme we offer support to encourage doctors and scientists 
to enhance their understanding of haemophilia and share best 
practices to improve care. We also sponsor an accredited training 
programme, the Haemophilia Academy, as well as scientific sessions 
at major congresses.

38     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

People with haemophilia with inhibitors from around the world 
met in Buenos Aires in June 2010 to inaugurate the Novo Nordisk 
Global Haemophilia with Inhibitors Patient Council. By establishing 
a platform for ongoing communication with people with 
haemophilia and their representatives, we hope to better 
understand the unmet needs of people with haemophilia and 
how Novo Nordisk may be able to help. The group generated 
ideas about information and support that would benefit people 
with inhibitors. In the US we have also established the Consumer 
Council to offer better services to people with haemophilia. Their 
activities have helped develop the Uninhibited Achievement 
award, the Inhibitor Education Summits and the Voices 
Uninhibited newsletter. The US Changing Possibilities Coalition 
also has a Facebook site with several hundred fans.

During 2010, we launched a number of programmes in Turkey to 
create awareness and build public support for haemophilia. To 
create positive awareness of haemophilia, particularly among 
healthcare providers, we were the main sponsor of the National 
Patient Summit and symposium. More than 300 people with 
haemophilia, healthcare professionals, associations and Ministry 
of Health officials participated in the April event.

Expanding
access to care

Our ambition is to improve access to diagnosis, care and treatment 
for people with haemophilia. We are working with the haemophilia 
community to support the next generation of haemophilia 
physicians, improve access to care today and increase treatment 
options in the future.

To give surgical teams the expertise to perform needed surgeries 
for people with haemophilia, we launched an ongoing training 
programme in 2009. People with haemophilia may suffer joint 
damage from repeated bleeds. Joint replacement may end 
chronic pain, but there are special challenges in performing 
surgery on people with haemophilia with inhibitors. Four-day 
Excellence Training Programmes are being held at haemophilia 
centres worldwide and each session accommodates up to four 
surgical teams.

As our focus on haemophilia has expanded, so has our commitment 
to the global haemophilia community. We established the Novo 
Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation (NNHF) in 2005 to address the 
significant need for improving haemophilia care and treatment in 
developing countries, where haemophilia is not a healthcare 
priority and many people with haemophilia go undiagnosed or 
are inadequately treated.

Our donations to the NNHF, including 15 million Danish kroner in 
2010, support projects and fellowships in 25 developing and 
emerging countries. By working with partners across all areas of 
the haemophilia community with local ownership of projects, the 
NNHF aims to ensure the sustainability of development programmes. 
See nnhf.org for more information.

Other therapy areas

In determining which business areas our company should operate in, 
we consider our core strengths in protein engineering and chronic 
disease treatment as well as the potential for global market leadership.

Growth hormone therapy
Novo Nordisk is moving into a global leadership position in 
human growth hormone therapy, building on a 40-year 
commitment that leverages on our expertise with protein 
molecules. Norditropin® is the only liquid growth hormone 
product with a formulation that does not require refrigeration 
after first use and is available in a prefilled, ready-to-use device.1

Growth hormone deficiency affects the pituitary gland. If the 
pituitary gland does not produce enough growth hormone, 
growth is slower than normal. Children need growth hormone to 
grow to normal height. In adults, growth hormone is needed to 
maintain a good quality of life and the proper amounts of body fat, 
muscle and bone to reduce metabolic complications. Research 
shows that children of short stature are more likely to experience 
difficulty at school, while adults with growth hormone deficiency 
have poorer-than-average health-related quality of life.

We have drawn on our technological expertise in injection devices 
to improve growth hormone delivery systems and products. During 
2010, we launched a new auto-injection device, Norditropin® 
FlexPro®. Among the new key features is an easy-push dose button 
and a new, end-of-dose ‘click’, which lets the user know, when the 
full dose has been delivered. The pen is also shorter, aiming to 
make it easier to hold and handle for both children and adults.

Hormone replacement therapy
Vagifem® 10μg, a lower-dose version of Vagifem®, was 
introduced in the US, Canada and Europe in 2010. VagiFem® 
builds on our 35 years of experience with hormone treatment
for menopausal symptoms. Our long-standing position is that 
hormone replacement therapy for women should be prescribed 
at the lowest effective dose and for a time period consistent with 
treatment goals and risks assessed for the individual woman.

Treating inflammatory diseases
Leveraging our protein expertise to help people with other types 
of chronic disorders and add diversity to our clinical pipeline of 
products, we now have projects in early clinical development 
targeting chronic inflammation. In 2010, we initiated our first 
phase 2 clinical inflammation trials in people with rheumatoid 
arthritis. For more information on our strategy for treating 
inflammatory diseases, see pp 17–19.

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Recruitment
for clinical
trials

Interview with Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen,
Novo Nordisk’s chief science officer

What are the current challenges in conducting clinical trials?
Regulators and health technology assessors are requiring 
more evidence of both the clinical and economic benefit 
to society of new experimental medicine. Expectations are 
increasing, and to meet them we are having to increase 
the number and size of our clinical trial programmes. This 
makes trials longer and more complex to manage as we 
are required to obtain more information from patients and 
to provide more information to agencies.

It is particularly critical that we have sufficient patients from 
different ethnic groups enrolled in a trial to live up to the 
requirements of regulatory agencies with different wishes. 
Otherwise, we may end up having too few patients overall, 
or of a specific category, at the end of a trial to obtain final 
evaluative data and product approval. This can lead to 
non-approval or a delay in approval increasing the overall 
costs for the drug candidate and preventing us from serving 
patients in the best possible way.

How does this affect clinical trials for
treatment of rare bleeding disorders?
For orphan diseases, patient recruitment presents a 
unique challenge. In the case of congenital factor XIII 
deficiency, there are only 600 people worldwide who 
have this condition. Even for trials with only 40 patients, 
we are required to run a global clinical trial programme
to ensure worldwide approval. 

What are the difficulties in conducting
clinical trials on a global scale?
We conduct clinical trials in more than 50 countries, and 
there are many advantages in doing this. It is important 
that treatments are assessed in different patient 
populations, as required by regulators. To ensure that all 
patients are treated equally, we have one set of global 
clinical standard operating procedures in compliance with 
regulatory guidelines. We conduct internal reviews, set up 
safety and ethical committees for all trials, train our staff 
and investigators, and perform both internal and external 
audits. Also, we need to ensure that Good Clinical Practice 
guidelines exist in all countries involved in any given trial.

What is Novo Nordisk doing to ensure sufficient recruitment?
Novo Nordisk has a long history of preparing and 
designing successful patient recruitment strategies across 
therapy areas – from identifying patients, requesting 
referrals from physicians, contacting and screening 
patients, and obtaining informed consent, to training 
the staff responsible for patient recruitment. In fact, 
developing solutions for trial recruitment has become 
a competitive advantage for our  organisation.

1.  Only the 5μg and 10μg sizes are room-temperature stable.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     39

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Corporate 
governance

The framework for our corporate governance consists of internal 
principles as well as external regulations and codes, including 
compliance with applicable securities laws in Denmark and the 
US and the Danish Recommendations on Corporate Governance. 
Our values are consistent with principles of good governance, 
and the Novo Nordisk Way forms the foundation of our internal 
values-based framework.

Our company is part of the Novo Group, a family of independent 
companies with a common history and shared values. The holding 
company of the Novo Group is Novo A/S, a Danish limited liability 
company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation,
 a commercial, profit-making foundation.

Governance structure
Novo Nordisk holds itself accountable to shareholders for its 
performance. The company seeks to enhance the accuracy, 
completeness and reliability of the information provided in the 
company’s annual financial and non-financial reporting through 
internal controls, assurance and independent audits. Reporting helps 
shareholders assess the actions of the Board and Management.

Shareholder rights
Novo Nordisk’s share capital is divided into A shares and B shares. 
All A shares are held by Novo A/S, which also holds B shares, as 
reported on p 55. The B shares are traded on the NASDAQ OMX 
Copenhagen and in the form of ADRs on the New York Stock 
Exchange.

Each A share (= nominal value 1 Danish krone) carries 1,000 votes 
and each B share (= nominal value 1 Danish krone) carries 100 
votes. Special rights attached to A shares include pre-emptive 
subscription rights in the event of an increase of the A share 
capital and pre-emptive purchase rights in the event of a sale
of A shares and priority dividend if the dividend is below 0.5%, 
while B shares take priority for dividends between 0.5% and
5% and B shares take priority for winding-up proceedings.

Shareholders have ultimate authority over the company and 
exercise their right to make decisions regarding Novo Nordisk 
at general meetings, either in person, by proxy, or by 
correspondence. Resolutions can generally be passed by a simple 
majority, while resolutions to amend the Articles of Association 
are subject to adoption by at least two-thirds of votes cast and 
capital represented unless other requirements as to the adoption 
are imposed by the Danish Companies Act. We are not aware of 
the existence of any agreements with or between shareholders 
on the exercise of votes or control.

At the annual general meeting, shareholders approve the annual 
report and any amendments to the company’s Articles of 
Association. Shareholders also elect board members and the 
independent auditor.

General meetings are held in English; however, proposals may 
be submitted and questions asked in Danish. Simultaneous 

40     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

interpretation between English and Danish is available and the 
meeting is webcast. The Board has decided that, currently, 
general meetings should be conducted by physical attendance. 
Shareholders may, however, vote by proxy or correspondence, 
either electronically or by mail.

General meetings must be called with three to five weeks’ notice. 
The meeting agenda is sent out with a combined proxy and 
voting form, allowing shareholders to vote on each agenda item 
separately. A shareholder’s right to attend and vote at a general 
meeting is determined by shares owned at the record date, which 
is one week prior to the general meeting. All shareholders may, 
no later than six weeks prior to the general meeting, request that 
proposals for resolution be included on the agenda. The deadline 
for applying for an admission card to a general meeting is no later 
than three days prior to the general meeting. All documents 
relating to general meetings are published on Novo Nordisk’s 
website at least three weeks prior to the general meeting.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation
The Novo Nordisk Foundation supports Novo Nordisk’s 
adherence to the Charter for Companies in the Novo Group, 
which is online at novo.dk. All strategic and operational matters 
are solely decided by the Board and the Management of Novo 
Nordisk. Overlapping board memberships help to ensure that 
the Foundation and Novo Nordisk share a common vision and 
strategy.

Our values are consistent with 
principles of good governance, 
and the Novo Nordisk Way 
forms the foundation of
our internal values-based 
framework.

Board of Directors
The company has a two-tier board structure consisting of the 
Board of Directors and Executive Management. The two bodies 
are separate and no person serves as a member of both. On 
behalf of the shareholders, the Board determines the company’s 
overall strategy and actively contributes to developing the 
company as a focused, sustainable global pharmaceutical 
company. The Board supervises Executive Management in its 
decisions and operations and may issue new shares or buy back 
shares in accordance with authorisations granted by the general 
meeting and recorded in the minutes.

The Board has 11 members, seven of whom are elected by 
shareholders at general meetings and four by employees. 
Shareholder-elected board members serve a one-year term and 
may be re-elected at the general meeting. According to the Rules 
of Procedure of the Board, members must retire at the first 
general meeting after reaching the age of 70. At the 2011 Annual 
General Meeting, it will be proposed to include the retirement 
age in the articles, in accordance with the Danish Corporate 
Governance Recommendations.

 
 
 
 
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A proposal for nomination of board members is presented by 
the Chairmanship to the Board, taking into account required 
competences as stated in the competency profile, and reflecting 
the result of a self-assessment process facilitated by external 
consultants. The assessment process is based on written 
questionnaires and evaluates whether each board member 
and executive participates actively in board discussions and 
contributes with independent judgement. The self-assessment 
conducted in 2010 resulted in an update of the competency 
profile of the Board and an enhanced focus on the succession 
preparedness of the Board, which entailed the establishment 
of an ad hoc nomination team.

In nominating candidates, the Chairmanship seeks to achieve 
a balance between renewal and continuity. The competency profile 
is reviewed annually by the Board and disclosed on the Novo 
Nordisk website. The majority of the shareholder-elected board 
members, four out of seven, are independent as defined by the 
Danish Corporate Governance Recommendations. See p 50.

Under Danish law, Novo Nordisk employees in Denmark are 
entitled to be represented by half of the total number of board 
members elected at the general meeting. In 2010, employees 
elected from among themselves four board members. Board 
members elected by employees serve a four-year term and have 
the same rights, duties and responsibilities as shareholder-elected 
board members.

The Board met seven times during 2010. Five meetings were 
attended by all board members; two of the members had to be 
excused from attending one meeting each during the year. With 
the exception of agenda items reserved for the Board’s internal 
discussion at each meeting, executives attend and may speak, 
without voting rights, at board meetings to ensure that the Board 
is adequately informed of the company’s operations. Executives 
provide regular feedback from meetings with investors to give 
board members an insight into major shareholders’ views of the 
company.

consisting of the Chairmanship, Jørgen Wedel and Henrik Gürtler, 
has been established to identify new board candidates.

In March 2010, the Board re-elected Sten Scheibye as chairman 
and Göran A Ando as vice chairman. See novonordisk.com/
about_us for a detailed report on the Chairmanship’s activities.

Research and development facilitator
The Board has for a number of years had an research and 
development facilitator to assist the Board and Executive 
Management in preparing the Board’s discussions about research 
and development. The Board determined the position was no 
longer needed and abolished it as of the end of 2010.

Audit Committee
The three members of the Audit Committee are elected by the 
Board from among its members. All members qualify as 
independent and have been designated as financial experts as 
defined by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Under Danish law, all members qualify as financial experts and 
two of the members also qualify as independent.

In 2010, the Audit Committee held four meetings attended by 
all members except for one occasion when one member was 
excused.

The Audit Committee assists the Board of Directors with 
oversight of the external auditors, the internal audit function, 
complaints regarding financial fraud and business ethics, the 
financial reporting process and post-investment reviews. The 
Audit Committee conducts a self-assessment annually, evaluating 
whether each member participates actively in discussions and 
contributes with independent judgement.

In March 2010, the Board re-elected Kurt Anker Nielsen as chairman 
and re-elected Jørgen Wedel and Hannu Ryöppönen as members 
of the Audit Committee. See novonordisk.com/about_us for a 
detailed report on the Audit Committee’s activities.

Chairmanship
The Board elects from among its members a chairman and a vice 
chairman, who form the Chairmanship of the Board. In 2010, the 
annual general meeting approved that as of 2011 shareholders 
will directly elect the chairman and the vice chairman. In 2010, 
the Chairmanship held seven meetings and both members attended 
all meetings.

Compliance hotline
Concerns of possible business ethics misconduct and financial 
fraud may be raised anonymously by employees and other 
stakeholders through the global compliance hotline. The compliance 
hotline is managed by the Audit Committee secretariat and 
monitored by the Audit Committee. The compliance hotline is 
available over the telephone and on the web in nine languages.

The Chairmanship carries out administrative tasks such as planning 
board meetings to ensure a balance between overall strategy-
setting and financial and managerial supervision of the company. 
It also reviews the fixed asset investment portfolio. Other tasks 
include recommending the remuneration of directors and 
executives, and suggesting candidates for election by the general 
meeting.

In practice, the Chairmanship has the roles and responsibilities 
of a nomination committee and a remuneration committee, and 
presents proposals to the Board. The Board has not established 
separate remuneration and nomination committees, believing 
that each board member must have the opportunity to contribute 
actively to discussions and have access to all relevant information 
about remuneration and nomination. Novo Nordisk is therefore 
not in compliance with the Danish Corporate Governance 
Recommendations, which recommend separate remuneration 
and nomination committees. An ad hoc nomination team, 

Management of the company
The Board has delegated responsibility for day-to-day 
management to Executive Management. Executive Management 
consists of the president and chief executive officer and four 
other executives. They are responsible for organisation of the 
company as well as allocation of resources, determination and 
implementation of strategies and policies, direction-setting and 
ensuring timely reporting and provision of information to the 
Board and the stakeholders of Novo Nordisk. Executive 
Management meets at least once a month and often more 
frequently. The Board appoints members of Executive 
Management and determines remuneration. The Chairmanship 
reviews the performance of the executives.

Remuneration principles
Details about the company’s remuneration principles and the 
remuneration of the Board of Directors and Executive Management 
can be found in the Remuneration Report on pp 46–49.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     41

 
 
 
 
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Assurance
External audit
The company’s financial reporting and the internal controls over 
financial reporting processes are audited and assessed by an 
external auditor elected at the annual general meeting. The auditor 
acts in the interest of shareholders and reports any significant 
findings regarding accounting matters and any significant internal 
control deficiencies via the Audit Committee to the Board and in 
the Auditor’s Long-Form Report. As part of the company’s 
commitment to financial, environmental and social responsibility, 
Novo Nordisk voluntarily includes an assurance report for non-
financial reporting in its annual report. The assurance provider 
reviews whether the non-financial performance information 
included in the annual report is inclusive, covers aspects deemed 
to be material and is responsive to company stakeholders.

The assurance process also serves to verify the internal control 
processes of the non-financial information reported in the annual 
report.

Internal audit
The company’s internal audit function, Group Internal Audit, 
reports to the Audit Committee. The internal audit function 
provides independent and objective assurance primarily within 
internal control over financial processes and business ethics. To 

ensure that the function works independently of management, 
its charter, audit plan and budget are approved by the Audit 
Committee. The Audit Committee must approve the appointment, 
remuneration and dismissal of the head of the internal audit 
function.

Internal control
Novo Nordisk’s risk management and internal controls in relation 
to financial processes are designed with the purpose of effectively 
controlling the risk of material misstatements. A detailed 
description of the implemented internal controls and risk 
management system in relation to financial reporting processes is 
available at novonordisk.com/about_us/corporate_governance/
internal_control.asp. Novo Nordisk is in compliance with US 
Sarbanes–Oxley Act section 404, which requires detailed 
documentation of the design and operation of financial reporting 
processes. Novo Nordisk must ensure that there are no material 
weaknesses in the internal controls that could lead to a material 
misstatement in the financial reporting. The company’s 
conclusion and the auditor’s evaluation of these processes 
are included in its Form 20-F filing to the US SEC.

The Board alsp requires that non-financial information be subject 
to the same types of internal control procedures required of 
financial data under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act. Novo Nordisk has 
been working towards this objective since 2008.

Corporate governance 
codes and practices

Framework

Governance structure

Assurance

External
codes and
regulations
(external)

Novo
Nordisk
Way
(internal)

Shareholders

Board of Directors

Chairman-
ship

Audit
Committee

Executive Management

Organisation

Financial
audit and
non-fi nancial 
review
(internal and 
external)

Facilitation
and
organisational 
audit
(internal)

Quality audit
(internal)

New Danish Corporate Governance Recommendations were 
introduced in 2010. Novo Nordisk is following the majority of the 
recommendations, but does not follow three:

•   The Board does not have a nomination committee.

•   The Board does not have a remuneration committee.

•   Existing executive employment contracts allow for severance of 

more than 24 months' fixed base salary plus pension 
contribution.

Explanations for deviations from these recommendations are 
given on pp 41 and 48–49.

To be in line with four other recommendations, the following 
proposals will be presented to the 2011 Annual General Meeting 
regarding:

•   retirement age for board members

•   approval of remuneration principles by the general meeting

•   explanation of remuneration package elements and

•   a provision allowing the company to reclaim variable 

remuneration paid on the basis of data proved to be manifestly 
misstated.

As a foreign listed private issuer Novo Nordisk is in compliance 
with the corporate governance standards of the New York Stock 
Exchange, where Novo Nordisk’s ADRs are listed. 

The applicable corporate governance codes for each exchange 
and a detailed review of Novo Nordisk’s compliance are available 
at novonordisk.com/about_us. In accordance with Section 107b 
of the Danish Financial Statements Act, Novo Nordisk has 
disclosed the mandatory corporate governance report at 
novonordisk.com/about_us/corporate_governance/compliance.asp.

42     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
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Risk management

Novo Nordisk has developed a dynamic approach to risk 
management to ensure that key risks are proactively identified, 
assessed and managed. Maintaining and monitoring a systematic 
integrated process to continually assess business risks is the 
responsibility of Executive Management. The Risk Management 
Board, with representatives of Senior Management from all parts 
of the business and chaired by the chief financial officer, sets the 
strategic direction for the risk management process and 
challenges the overall risk and control profile for Novo Nordisk.

Our policy for risk management is to proactively manage risk to 
ensure continued growth of our business and to protect our 
people, assets and reputation. This means that we:

•   utilise an effective and integrated risk management system 

while maintaining business flexibility

•   identify and assess material risks associated with our business

•   monitor, manage and mitigate risks.

Our risk willingness is not one specific figure or formula, but 
varies depending upon the specific category of risk. The main 
characteristics of Novo Nordisk’s risk willingness are:

•   We innovate to help patients and to defeat diabetes by 

finding better methods of diabetes prevention, detection 
and treatment. We will offer products and services in other 
areas where we can make a difference. We accept the 
commensurate high level of risk involved in bringing new 
treatments or innovative products to market that meet the 
needs of patients.

•   Because the safety of patients is paramount, vigorous 
efforts are made to reduce product safety risks to the 
lowest level possible.

•   A conservative approach is taken to the management of 

financial risks.

•   We strive to reduce supply chain risks through proactive 

business continuity planning, regular inspections and back-up 
facilities.

•   We have a zero tolerance approach to unethical business 

conduct.

Risk management process
All major business areas are required to report their most 
significant financial and non-financial risks quarterly, along with 
plans or processes to manage these risks. The Risk Office, acting 
as the secretariat for the Risk Management Board, challenges 
business areas about reported risks. Reported risks are then 
consolidated into a ranking and assessment of the company’s 
key risks. This information is presented to the Risk Management 
Board and then to Executive Management, the Audit 
Committee and the Board of Directors.

All assessments of risk take into account the likelihood of an 
event and its potential impact on the business. Impacts are 
quantified and assessed in terms of potential financial loss and 
reputational damage. Risks are assessed both as gross risk and 

net risk. The assessment of gross risk assumes that no 
mitigating actions have been implemented, whereas net risk 
assessment takes into account mitigating actions already 
implemented and their anticipated effect. Enterprise risk 
management increases our ability to assess and understand 
risks separately and in relation to each other from a global 
perspective but with local control.

More information on our risk management process is available at 
annualreport2010.novonordisk.com.

The risks that we deem of greatest importance to our business 
are categorised and described below. They are not, however, 
ranked. Many of these issues are also discussed elsewhere in the 
report.

Market risks
Price pressures
As healthcare costs have risen, outstripping the pace of economic 
growth, there is increasing economic, political and regulatory 
pressure to contain pharmaceutical prices. The impact of the global 
economic recession has further exacerbated this trend.

In the US, healthcare reform legislation passed in 2010 is likely 
to impact Novo Nordisk’s business. However, uncertainties 
regarding the implementation of specific aspects of the 
legislation remain. In Europe, the impact of the global economic 
recession coupled with budget deficits in many countries is 
increasing the pressure on governments to control healthcare 
spending even more tightly. As a result, we are operating in an 
increasingly challenging environment with significant price 
pressure.

It is increasingly imperative to document treatment benefits to 
ensure that innovation is properly valued. Novo Nordisk has 
therefore increased the number of clinical and health-economic 
studies to substantiate the benefits of our products for patients 
and society, particularly for improved diabetes treatment. For 
more information on how Novo Nordisk is addressing pricing 
challenges, see p 5.

Biosimilar competition
The market for therapeutic proteins is becoming more attractive 
to biosimilar producers as regulatory rules in Europe and the US 
are changing to allow producers to introduce biosimilar products 
when patents for branded products expire. This development is 
exacerbated by increasing pressures on governments to contain 
healthcare costs.

Novo Nordisk anticipates that the expiration of certain patents 
could impact sales within the next five years. However, with the 
continuing transition from human to modern insulins, an 
increasing proportion of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes care sales in 
major markets are protected by patents.

Traditionally, earlier generations of insulin products have been off 
patent for years so this is a risk with which Novo Nordisk is 
familiar and has considerable experience addressing. Biosimilar 
products have been present on the European market for several 
decades but have had only a marginal impact. In countries such 
as India and China, where the company has long had biosimilar 
competition, Novo Nordisk has maintained an insulin volume 
market share of approximately 60%.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     43

 
 
 
 
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Research and development risks
Bringing new products to market
Continued growth in our business depends on the company’s ability 
to develop and offer better treatments to patients. During each 
stage of the development process, which includes extensive 
non-clinical tests and clinical trials as well as an elaborate regulatory 
approval process, we may encounter serious obstacles which may 
delay our product initiatives and add substantial expense, or which 
could cause us to abandon a product initiative altogether. Delays
in bringing new products such as Degludec and DegludecPlus to 
market would impact our ability to reach long-term financial targets.

In our experience, there is less than a 35% chance for a product 
candidate in phase 1 in the pipeline ultimately being approved 
for marketing, while the chance of success is around 40% for 
Phase 2 product candidates and rises to around 70% for Phase 
3 but there remains significant uncertainty regarding the timing 
and success of the regulatory approval process. The reasons for 
delays or failure include, for instance: failure of the product 
candidate in non-clinical studies due to safety concerns; 
problems in completing formulation and other testing and work 
necessary to support a regulatory approval process; adverse 
reactions to the product candidate or indications of other safety 
concerns; failure in clinical trial data to support the safety or 
efficacy of the product candidate; inability to manufacture, in 
a timely and cost-efficient manner, sufficient quantities of the 
product candidate for development or commercialisation 
activities; and failure to obtain, or delays in obtaining, the 
required regulatory approvals for the product candidate or the 
facilities in which it is manufactured.

Due to the risks and uncertainties involved in progressing through 
non-clinical development and clinical trials, and the time and cost 
involved in obtaining regulatory approvals, we cannot reasonably 
estimate the nature, timing, completion dates and costs of the 
efforts necessary to complete the development.

Production and quality risks
Supply disruptions
Failure or breakdown in any of the company’s vital production 
facilities could adversely affect the results of operations, as well 
as possibly causing employee injuries or infrastructure damage. 
Fire-prevention design, alarms and fire instructions, annual 
inspections, back-up facilities and safety inventories are aimed 
at mitigating this risk. To spread this risk geographically and 
optimise costs and supply logistics, we have expanded 
production capacity beyond the company’s European base to 
the US, Brazil and China. See the map of our production 
facilities on pp 26–27.

Continued growth depends on 
our ability to develop and offer 
better treatments to patients.

Risk of product recalls
Product safety is directly linked to patient well-being, so safety 
and product quality are paramount concerns from both financial 
and reputational perspectives. While the gross risk is very high, 
with product safety having the potential to adversely affect 
operations, we believe that our vigorous efforts to manage and 
mitigate this risk effectively reduce the company’s net risk profile. 
We have a global corporate quality system in place, including 
quality audits, quality improvement plans and systematic Senior 
Management reviews.

For information on Novo Nordisk’s product recalls during 2010, 
see p 10.

Managing risks throughout our business

Board of Directors

Executive Management

Risk Management Board

Risk Offi ce

Risk coordinators in units 
around the world

Risk assessment example

Critical

Major

Moderate

t
c
a
p
m

I

The entire range of 
risks is consolidated 
and challenged every 
quarter. Key risks are 
identifi ed throughout 
the global organisation 
while control is 
maintained locally.

Minor

Likelihood

Unlikely

Possible

Likely

Very likely

•  Gross assessment
•  Net assessment after mitigation

44     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
Further information on significant legal issues related to product 
liability claims, business practices and government investigations 
is included in note 31 on pp 87–88.

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Financial risks
Exchange rates
As a global business, fluctuations in currency exchange rates 
impact the reported performance. Novo Nordisk’s reporting 
currency and the functional currency of corporate operations is the 
Danish krone, which is closely linked to the euro in a narrow range. 
However, the company has substantial exposure to other 
currencies, including the US dollar, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan and 
British pound. For information on how the company manages 
these risks, see note 27 in the financial statements on pp 80–81.

Tax disputes
During the ongoing course of business, tax disputes may arise in 
relation to different jurisdictions.

Ethical risks
Marketing practices
In a competitive environment with increasing public scrutiny and 
regulation, marketing practices can be the source of legal action or 
reputational risk. Our reputation as a trusted healthcare partner is 
integral to effectively maintaining and growing our business. At the 
same time, the regulatory context for marketing activity is 
constantly changing. A business ethics policy and global business 
ethics procedures, paired with close monitoring of performance 
and reporting requirements, all aim to mitigate these risks. 
Significant resources are also dedicated to training marketing and 
sales people around the world. Significant legal issues relating to 
marketing practices are included in note 31 on pp 87–88.

Legal risks
Intellectual property
Patent rights are a very important tool for promoting innovation, 
leading to new and better products and processes, and 
stimulating long-term economic growth and job creation. 
Governments may not recognise the validity of patents or may be 
unable or unwilling to uphold intellectual property rights.

We will enforce our patent rights in cases of infringement when this 
is deemed advisable by Executive Management after careful analysis 
of the commercial and legal aspects of enforcement. Similar analysis 
is applied to decisions to defend Novo Nordisk’s patent rights against 
other legal challenges. Significant legal issues related to intellectual 
property are included in note 31 on pp 87–88.

Other legal risks
Novo Nordisk operates in a complex global legal and regulatory 
environment with diverse national, regional and international 
legislation. Legal issues may arise relating to product liability 
claims, company practices and government investigations.

In May 2009, Novo Nordisk entered into a Deferred Prosecution 
Agreement (DPA) for a three-year period with the US Department 
of Justice relating to certain actions undertaken by Novo Nordisk 
under the Oil For Food Programme for Iraq. We must comply with 
the terms of the DPA in order for the case to be dismissed. Novo 
Nordisk has subsequently enacted a detailed programme to 
ensure compliance with the DPA, including a reinforced 
governance structure, enhanced third-party due diligence 
systems and periodic testing of systems, policies and procedures.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     45

 
 
 
 
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Remuneration report

In keeping with our aim to attract, retain and motivate talented 
employees in the competitive global pharmaceutical market, 
compensation at Novo Nordisk is designed to be competitive, 
reward short-term as well as long-term performance and align 
interests with those of shareholders.

On a global basis, compensation packages are guided by five 
broad principles:

•   A total rewards approach

In addition to a fixed base salary, incentives and benefits, 
non-financial remuneration such as continuing education, 
career progression and working environment are important 
elements of the ‘total rewards’ package.

•   Market linked

Salaries, incentives and benefits are positioned and maintained 
at the level required to be competitive in local markets, generally 
between the local market median and upper quartile. Novo 
Nordisk also provides adequate life insurance, healthcare and 
pension provisions irrespective of local competitive practice.

•   Performance linked

There is a transparent, direct link between employee performance 
and remuneration. Variable pay is used to reward performance, 
with base pay increases reflecting market conditions.

•   Transparency

Clear communication of remuneration programmes is a 
priority, and all costs associated with compensation practices 
are known and publicly disclosed.

•   Flexibility

Subject to corporate governance or legal requirements, flexibility 
is encouraged. Flexible solutions must be cost neutral to Novo 
Nordisk, and adequate levels of insurance must be maintained.

Remuneration principles

In accordance with new Danish Corporate Governance Recommen-
dations introduced during 2010, Novo Nordisk’s remuneration 
principles have been revised to include incentive guidelines, a 
description of the reasons for choosing the individual components of 
the remuneration, a description of the criteria on which the balance 
between the individual components of the remuneration is based 
and a right for Novo Nordisk to reclaim in full or in part variable 
remuneration paid on the basis of data subsequently determined to 
be manifestly misstated. The revised remuneration principles will be 
presented for approval to the 2011 Annual General Meeting.

Executive remuneration
Executive remuneration is proposed by the Chairmanship and 
subsequently approved by the Board. On an annual basis, executive 
remuneration is assessed against a benchmark of large Danish 
companies with international activities, and this information is 
supplemented by information on remuneration levels for similar 
positions in the international pharmaceutical industry.

The 2010 assessment of executive remuneration against a 
benchmark of large Danish companies determined that elements in 
the remuneration package are below market benchmark levels. At 
the 2011 Annual General Meeting it will be proposed that executive 
remuneration be assessed against a benchmark of relevant 
Scandinavian companies and European pharmaceutical companies, 
which in size and complexity are more similar to Novo Nordisk.

Remuneration packages for executives consist of a fixed base 
salary, a cash-based incentive, share-based incentive, a pension 
contribution and other benefits. The split between fixed and 
variable remuneration is intended to result in a reasonable part 
of the salary being linked to performance, while promoting sound 
long-term business decisions to achieve the company’s objectives. 
The aggregate maximum amount that may be granted as 
incentives for a given year is currently equal to 12 months’ fixed 
base salary plus pension contribution.

Remuneration package components

Executive Management

Board of Directors

Fixed base salary

Yes

Cash-based incentive

Share-based incentive

Severance payment

Up to four months’ fi xed base salary
plus pension contribution per year

Up to eight months’ fi xed base salary
plus pension contribution per year

12–36 months’ fi xed base salary
plus pension contribution

Pension

25–30% of fi xed base salary and bonus

Fee for ad hoc tasks and committee work

Travel allowance

Other benefi ts

No

No

As approved by the Board by delegation
of powers to the Chairmanship

Yes

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

46     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
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Fixed base salary
The fixed base salary accounts for approximately 40–60% of 
the total value of the remuneration package. The base salary is 
intended to attract and retain executives with the professional 
and personal competences required to drive the company’s 
performance.

Cash-based incentive
The cash-based incentive is designed to incentivise individual 
performance and short-term achievements in line with company 
needs, and may result in a maximum annual payout per year 
equal to four months’ fixed base salary plus pension contribution. 
The performance targets are individualised and are linked to the 

Executive Management and other members of the Senior Management Board

DKK million 

2010 Executive Management:
Lars Rebien Sørensen 
Jesper Brandgaard 
Lise Kingo 
Kåre Schultz 
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen 

Executive Management in total 

Other members of the Senior Management Board in total1 

Joint pool2 

2009 Executive Management:
Lars Rebien Sørensen 
Jesper Brandgaard 
Lise Kingo 
Kåre Schultz 
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen 

Executive Management in total 

Other members of the Senior Management Board in total1 

Joint pool2 

Fixed base 
salary 

Cash-based 
incentive 

Pensions 

Other 
benefi ts 

Share-based 
incentive 

Total
remuneration

6.6 
4.3 
3.9 
4.7 
4.3 

23.8 

62.5 

6.5 
4.2 
3.8 
4.5 
4.2 

23.2 

59.5 

2.2 
1.4 
1.3 
1.6 
1.4 

7.9 

2.2 
1.4 
1.3 
1.7 
1.4 

8.0 

0.3 
0.3 
0.3 
0.3 
0.3 

1.5 

23.8 

20.9 

10.3 

1.6 
1.4 
1.3 
1.2 
1.0 

6.5 

2.0 
1.4 
1.2 
1.6 
1.3 

7.5 

0.3 
0.3 
0.3 
0.3 
0.3 

1.5 

20.5 

19.6 

10.6 

– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

– 

64.3 

– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

– 

54.4 

11.3 
7.4 
6.8 
8.3 
7.4 

41.2 

117.5

64.3

10.4
7.3 
6.6
7.6
6.8

38.7

110.2

54.4

1.  The total remuneration for 2010 includes remuneration to 24 senior vice presidents, three of whom retired or left the company. The 2010 remuneration for these three senior vice presidents is 

included in the table above whereas a settlement of 25 million Danish kroner is not included. The total remuneration for 2009 includes remuneration to 25 senior vice presidents, none of whom 
resigned during the year.

2.  The joint pool is locked up for three years before it is transferred to the participants employed at the end of the three-year period. The value is the cash amount of the share bonus granted in the year 
using the grant-date market value of Novo Nordisk B shares. Based on the split of participants at the establishment of the joint pool, approximately 30% of the pool will be allocated to the members 
of Executive Management and 70% to other members of the Senior Management Board (2009: 30% and 70% respectively). In the lock-up period, the joint pool may potentially be reduced in the 
event of lower-than-planned value creation in subsequent years.

Management’s long-term incentive programme
The shares allocated to the joint pool for 2007 (166,292 shares) were released to the individual participants following approval by the 
Board of Directors on 1 February 2011. Based on the share price at the end of 2010, the value of the released shares is as follows:

Value as at 31 December 2010 of shares released 1 February 2011 

Executive Management:
Lars Rebien Sørensen 
Jesper Brandgaard 
Lise Kingo 
Kåre Schultz 
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen 

Executive Management in total 

Other members of the Senior Management Board in total2 

1. The market value of the shares released in 2011 is based on the Novo Nordisk B share price at the end of 2010 of DKK 629.
2. In addition, 23,147 shares (market value: DKK 14.6 million) were released to retired members of management.

Number  Market value1
(DKK million)
of shares 

14,851 
9,893 
9,893 
9,893 
9,893 

54,423 

88,722 

9.3 
6.2 
6.2 
6.2 
6.2 

34.1 

55.8 

Lars Rebien Sørensen serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Danmarks Nationalbank, from which he received remuneration of DKK 20,000 in 2010 (compared with DKK 10,000 in 2009), as 
a member of the Board of Directors of DONG Energy A/S, from which he received remuneration of DKK 175,000 in 2010 (compared with DKK 175,000 in 2009) and as a member of the Supervisory 
Board of Bertelsmann AG, from which he received remuneration of EUR 50,000 in 2010 (compared with EUR 87,500 in 2009). Until March 2010, Mr Sørensen also served as a member of the Board of 
Directors of ZymoGenetics, Inc. but did not receive any remuneration. Jesper Brandgaard serves as chairman of the Board of SimCorp A/S, from which he received remuneration of DKK 794,425 in 
2010 (compared with DKK 856,400 in 2009). Kåre Schultz serves as a member of the Board of Directors of LEGO A/S, from which he received remuneration of DKK 300,000 in 2010 (compared with 
DKK 250,000 in 2009). As of 11 October 2010, Kåre Schultz has also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Unibrew A/S, from which he received remuneration of DKK 156,250 in 2010. 
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Cellartis AB, from which he received remuneration of SEK 50,000 in 2010 (SEK 50,000 in 2009).

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goals in the company's Balanced Scorecard. Short-term targets 
for the chief executive officer are fixed by the chairman of the 
Board of Directors while the targets for executive vice presidents 
are fixed by the chief executive officer. The Chairmanship of the 
Board evaluates the degree of achievement for each member of 
Executive Management based on input from the chief executive 
officer. At the 2011 Annual General Meeting, it will be proposed 
that cash-based incentives may result in a maximum payout equal 
to six months’ fixed base salary plus pension contribution.

Joint pool shares for a given year are locked up for three years 
before they are transferred to participants. If a participant resigns 
during the lock-up period, his or her shares will remain in the joint 
pool for the benefit of the other participants. In the lock-up 
period, the Board may remove shares from the joint pool in the 
event of lower-than-planned value creation in subsequent years. 
In the lock-up period, the value of the joint pool will change 
depending on the development in the share price, aligning the 
interests of participants with those of shareholders.

Share-based incentives
The long-term, share-based incentive programme, designed to 
promote the collective performance of Executive Management 
and align the interests of executives and shareholders, may result 
in an annual allocation of up to eight months’ fixed base salary 
plus pension contribution.

At the beginning of each year, the Board decides whether to 
establish a long-term incentive programme for that year. The 
programme is based on a calculation of shareholder value 
creation compared with planned performance. Aligned with 
Novo Nordisk’s long-term financial targets, the calculation of 
shareholder value creation is based on reported operating profit 
after tax reduced by a weighted average cost of capital-based 
return (WACC) requirement on average invested capital. A 
proportion of the calculated shareholder value creation is 
allocated to a joint pool for the participants, which include 
Executive Management and other members of the Senior 
Management Board. The Senior Management Board consists 
of five members of Executive Management and senior vice 
presidents.

The allocation to the joint pool may, subject to the Board’s 
assessment, be reduced in the event of lower-than-planned 
performance in significant research and development projects or 
key sustainability projects. Targets for non-financial performance 
may include achievement of certain milestones by set dates.

Once the joint pool has been approved by the Board, the total 
cash amount is converted into Novo Nordisk B shares at market 
price, which is calculated as the average trading price on NASDAQ 
OMX Copenhagen in the open trading window following the 
release of financial results for the prior year. The shares in the 
joint pool are allocated to the participants on a pro rata basis: the 
chief executive officer has three units, executive vice presidents 
have two units each and other members of the Senior 
Management Board have one unit each.

Compensation at Novo Nordisk 
is designed to be competitive, 
reward performance and
align interests with those
of shareholders.

Pension
The pension contribution is 25–30% of the fixed base salary 
including bonus. Pension contributions are made to provide an 
opportunity for executives to build up an income for retirement.

Other benefits
Other benefits are added to ensure that overall remuneration is 
competitive and aligned to local practice. Executives receive 
non-monetary benefits such as company cars and phones. Such 
benefits are approved by the Board by delegation of powers to the 
Chairmanship. In addition, executives may participate in employee 
benefit programmes such as employee share purchase programmes.

Severance payment
Novo Nordisk may terminate employment by giving executives 
12 months’ notice. Executives may terminate their employment 
by giving Novo Nordisk six months’ notice.

In addition to the notice period, executives are entitled to 
a severance payment. Existing employment contracts allow 
severance payments of up to 36 months’ fixed base salary plus 
pension contributions in the event of a merger, acquisition or 
takeover of Novo Nordisk. In the case of termination by Novo 
Nordisk for other reasons, the severance payment is three months’ 

Executive remuneration
At target performance:
fixed versus variable pay

■ Fixed base salary 52%
■ Cash-based incentive 9%
■ Share-based incentive 22%
■ Pension 15%
■ Other benefits 2%

At maximum performance:
fixed versus variable pay

■ Fixed base salary 39%
■ Cash-based incentive 13%
■ Share-based incentive 33%
■ Pension 13%
■ Other benefits 2%

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fixed base salary plus pension contribution per year of employment 
as an executive and taking into account previous employment 
history. In no event will severance be less than 12 months’ or more 
than 36 months’ fixed base salary plus pension contribution. For 
new employment contracts, severance will be no more than 24 
months’ fixed base salary plus pension contribution, which will 
bring Novo Nordisk into alignment with the Danish Corporate 
Governance Recommendations in the long term.

Remuneration of board members
Remuneration of the Board of Directors includes a fixed base 
fee, a multiplier of the fixed base fee for the Chairmanship and 
members of the Audit Committee, fees for ad hoc tasks and 
a travel allowance. Remuneration is aligned with levels at other 
major Danish companies. At the 2011 Annual General Meeting,
 it will be proposed that the benchmark be changed to include 
relevant Scandinavian companies and European pharmaceutical 
companies.

The results of the annual remuneration benchmark are presented 
to the Board at its October meeting. In 2010, the benchmark of 
board remuneration included 15 large listed companies from the 
OMX C20 index, Nordic companies and European pharmaceutical 
companies. It was determined that the remuneration of Novo 
Nordisk’s board was broadly in line with other Danish companies, 
though these had not been adjusted for a period, but below 
Nordic companies and significantly below board remuneration
 at other European pharmaceutical companies. The gap was most 
significant for the remuneration of the chairman and vice 
chairman.

At the December meeting the Board agrees on recommendations 
for remuneration levels for the next financial year. In connection 
with the approval of the annual report, the Board approves the 
recommendation for actual remuneration for the past financial 
year and endorses the recommendation on remuneration levels 
for the current financial year. This is then presented to the annual 
general meeting for approval.

Each board member receives a fixed base fee annually. The 
chairman receives 2.5 times the base fee and the vice chairman 
receives 1.5 times the base fee. Service on the Audit Committee 
entitles board members to an additional fee. The Audit 
Committee chairman receives 1.25 times the base fee and Audit 
Committee members receive 0.5 times the base fee.

Following the benchmark conducted in 2010, the proposal put 
forward at the 2011 Annual General Meeting will include a 
change in the base fee from 400,000 to 500,000 Danish kroner, 
and a change in the multiplier for the board vice chairman from 
1.5 to 2.0 times the base fee and for the board chairman from 2.5 
to 3.0 times the base fee. At the same time it will be proposed to 
change the multiplier for the Audit Committee chairman from 
1.25 to 1.0 times the base fee.

Individual board members may take on specific ad hoc tasks 
outside their normal duties. In such cases the Board determines 
a fixed fee for the work carried out related to those tasks.

Travel and other expenses
All board members who do not reside in Denmark are paid a fixed 
travel allowance when attending board meetings in Denmark. No 
travel allowance is paid to board members when attending board 
meetings outside Denmark. The travel allowance is EUR 2,500 per 
meeting. At the 2011 Annual General Meeting, an increase to 
EUR 3,000 for European-based board members and EUR 6,000 
for US and Asia-based board members will be proposed.

Expenses such as travel and accommodation in relation to board 
meetings as well as relevant education are reimbursed.

Variable remuneration
Board members are not offered stock options, warrants or 
participation in other incentive schemes.

Board of Directors
In 2010, the base fee for members of the Board of Directors was DKK 400,000 (DKK 400,000 in 2009).

DKK million 

Sten Scheibye (chairman of the Board) 
Göran A Ando (vice chairman of the Board)2 
Kurt Anker Nielsen (chairman of the Audit Committee) 
Jørgen Wedel (Audit Committee member) 
Hannu Ryöppönen (Audit Committee member) 
Anne Marie Kverneland 
Henrik Gürtler 
Johnny Henriksen3 
Ulrik Hjulmand-Lassen4 
Pamela J Kirby 
Stig Strøbæk 
Søren Thuesen Pedersen 

Total 

2010

2009

Board of 
Directors 

Fee for 
  Board of 
ad hoc tasks and 
committee work1  allowance  Total  Directors 

Travel 

Fee for
ad hoc tasks and 
committee work1  allowance  Total

Travel 

1.0 
0.6 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.1 
0.3 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 

5.2 

– 
0.3 
0.5 
0.2 
0.2 
– 
– 
– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

1.2 

– 
0.1 
– 
0.1 
0.1 
– 
– 
– 
– 
0.1 
– 
– 

1.0 
1.0 
0.9 
0.7 
0.7 
0.4 
0.4 
0.1 
0.3 
0.5 
0.4 
0.4 

0.4 

6.8 

1.0 
0.6 
0.4 
0.4 
0.3 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
– 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 

5.1 

– 
0.3 
0.5 
0.2 
0.2 
– 
– 
– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

1.2 

– 
0.1 
– 
0.1 
0.1 
– 
– 
– 
– 
0.1 
– 
– 

1.0
1.0
0.9
0.7
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.4
–
0.5
0.4
0.4

0.4 

6.7

1. Ad hoc fees are for the research and development facilitator.
2. Göran A Ando was re-elected research and development facilitator in March 2010 and served throughout 2010.
3. Resigned as of March 2010.
4. Employee-elected board member as of March 2010.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     49

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Board of Directors

Sten Scheibye, picture 1
From 1995 to 2008, Mr Scheibye was president and CEO of Coloplast 
A/S, Denmark. Before joining Coloplast in 1993, Mr Scheibye served 
as senior vice president, sales and marketing in Leo Pharma A/S, 
Denmark. He joined Leo Pharma in 1981. Mr Scheibye is chairman of 
the Board of Directors of the Trade Council of Denmark and the 
Board of Governors of DTU (the Technical University of Denmark) and 
a member of the boards of Gambro AB, Sweden, Danske Bank A/S, 
Rambøll Gruppen A/S, DADES A/S, the Danish Industry Foundation 
and the Aase and Ejnar Danielsen Foundation, all in Denmark. 
Furthermore, he is chairman of the Denmark-America Foundation 
and vice chairman of the Danish Fulbright Commission. Mr Scheibye 
has an MSc in Chemistry and Physics (1978) and a PhD in Organic 
Chemistry (1981), both from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and 
a BComm from the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark (1983). 
The special competences possessed by Mr Scheibye that are impor-
tant for the performance of his duties are his knowledge of the 
healthcare industry, particularly in relation to people requiring 
chronic care, and managerial skills relating to international organi-
sations. Mr Scheibye became vice chairman of the Novo Nordisk A/S 
Board in 2004 and chairman in 2006.

Göran A Ando, picture 2
Dr Ando was CEO of Celltech Group plc, UK, until 2004. He joined 
Celltech from Pharmacia, now Pfizer, US, where he was executive 
vice president and president of R&D with additional responsibilities 
for manufacturing, IT, business development and M&A from 1995 to 
2003. From 1989 to 1995, Dr Ando was medical director, moving to 
deputy R&D director and then R&D director of Glaxo Group, UK. He 
was also a member of the Glaxo Group Executive Committee. 
Dr Ando is a founding fellow of the American College of Rheuma-
tology in the US. Dr Ando serves as chairman of the Board of Novexel 
SA, France, as vice chairman of the Board of S*Bio Pte Ltd, Singapore, 
and as a board member of Novo A/S, Denmark, EDBI Pte Ltd, 
Singapore, NicOx SA, France, EUSA Pharma, UK, CBio Ltd, Australia, 
and Albea Pharmaceuticals AG, Switzerland. Dr Ando also serves as 
a senior advisor to Essex Woodlands Health Ventures UK Ltd. and is 
chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board, Southwest Michigan First, 
US. Dr Ando qualified as a medical doctor at Linköping Medical 
University, Sweden (1973) and as a specialist in general medicine at 
the same institution (1978). The special competences possessed by 
Dr Ando that are important for the performance of his duties are his 

medical qualifications and his extensive executive background within 
the international pharmaceutical industry. Dr Ando became vice 
chairman of the Novo Nordisk A/S Board in 2006.

Henrik Gürtler, picture 3
Henrik Gürtler has been president and CEO of Novo A/S, Denmark, 
since 2000. He was employed by Novo Industri A/S, Denmark, as an 
R&D chemist in the Enzymes Division in 1977. After a number of 
years in various specialist and managerial positions within this area, 
Mr Gürtler was appointed corporate vice president of Human 
Resource Development in Novo Nordisk A/S in 1991, and in 1993 
he was appointed corporate vice president of Health Care Production. 
From 1996 to 2000, he was a member of Corporate Management 
of Novo Nordisk A/S with special responsibility for Corporate Staffs. 
Mr Gürtler is chairman of the boards of Novozymes A/S, 
Copenhagen Airports A/S and COWI A/S, all in Denmark. Mr Gürtler 
has an MSc in Chemical Engineering from DTU (the Technical 
University of Denmark) (1976). The special competences possessed 
by Mr Gürtler that are important for the performance of his duties 
are his knowledge of the Novo Group’s business and its policies and 
his knowledge of the international biotech industry.

Ulrik Hjulmand-Lassen, picture 4
Ulrik Hjulmand-Lassen joined Novo Nordisk in 2002 and 
currently works as a senior IT quality advisor in IT Governance. 
Mr Hjulmand-Lassen has a BSc from DTU (the Technical University 
of Denmark)/DIA-E from 1985, trained as an ISO 9001 lead 
auditor in 2006 and as an MCSA/IT Security in 2009.

Pamela J Kirby, picture 5
From 2001 to 2003, Pamela J Kirby was CEO of the contract research 
organisation Quintiles Transnational Corporation, US, and before 
that Dr Kirby was director of Global Strategic Marketing of F. 
Hoffman-La Roche Limited, Switzerland, from 1998 to 2001. From 
1996 to 1998, Dr Kirby was commercial director at British Biotech 
plc, UK, and from 1979 to 1996, Dr Kirby was employed by Astra 
(now AstraZeneca) in various international positions, most recently 
as regional director/vice president of Corporate Strategy, Marketing 
and Business Development. Dr Kirby is chairman of the Board of 
Scynexis Inc, US, and a board member of Smith & Nephew plc, UK, 
and Informa plc, Switzerland. Dr Kirby has a BSc in Pharmacology 
(1975) and a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology (1978), both from the 
University of London, UK. The special competences possessed by 
Dr Kirby that are important for the performance of her duties are her 
scientific qualifications and her extensive executive background 

Name (male/female) 
Sten Scheibye (m) 
Göran A Ando (m) 
Henrik Gürtler (m) 
Ulrik Hjulmand-Lassen2 (m) 
Pamela J Kirby (f) 
Anne Marie Kverneland2 (f) 
Kurt Anker Nielsen (m) 
Søren Thuesen Pedersen2 (m) 
Hannu Ryöppönen (m) 
Stig Strøbæk2 (m) 
Jørgen Wedel (m) 

First elected 
2003 
2005 
2005 
2010 
2008 
2000 
2000 
2006 
2009 
1998 
2000 

Term 
2011 
2011 
2011 
2014 
2011 
2014 
2011 
2014 
2011 
2014 
2011 

Nationality 
Danish 
Swedish 
Danish 
Danish 
British 
Danish 
Danish 
Danish 
Finnish 
Danish 
Danish 

Date of birth 
3 Oct 1951 
6 Mar 1949 
11 Aug 1953 
28 Apr 1962 
23 Sep 1953 
24 Jul 1956 
8 Aug 1945 
18 Dec 1964 
25 Mar 1952 
24 Jan 1964 
10 Aug 1948 

Independence3
Independent
Not independent1
Not independent1
Not independent
Independent
Not independent
Not independent1,4
Not independent
Independent4,5
Not independent
Independent4,5

1. Member of management or the Board of Novo A/S or the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
2. Elected by employees of Novo Nordisk.
3. In accordance with section 5.4.1 of Recommendations on Corporate Governance designated by NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen.
4. Mr Nielsen, Mr Ryöppönen and Mr Wedel qualify as independent Audit Committee members as defined by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
5. Mr Ryöppönen and Mr Wedel qualify as independent Audit Committee members as defined under part 8 of the Danish Act on Approved Auditors and Audit Firms.

50     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
within the international pharmaceutical and biotech industries, 
particularly in respect of marketing, strategic planning, clinical trials 
and life cycle management related to pharmaceutical products.

Anne Marie Kverneland, picture 6
Anne Marie Kverneland joined Novo Nordisk in July 1981 as a 
laboratory technician and is currently working as a full-time shop 
steward. Ms Kverneland has a degree in medical laboratory tech -
nology from the Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark (1980).

Kurt Anker Nielsen, picture 7
Kurt Anker Nielsen was initially employed by Novo Industri A/S in 
1974 as an economist. He served as CFO and deputy CEO of Novo 
Nordisk A/S until 2000, and from 2000 to 2003 he was CEO of Novo 
A/S. He serves as vice chairman of the Board of Novozymes A/S and 
as a member of the boards of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and 
LifeCycle Pharma A/S, both in Denmark. He is chairman of the board 
of Reliance A/S, Denmark, and a member of the board of Vestas 
Wind Systems A/S, Denmark. He is also the elected Audit Committee 
chairman for Novozymes A/S, LifeCycle Pharma A/S and Vestas 
Wind Systems A/S. Mr Nielsen serves as chairman of the Board of 
Directors of Collstrups Mindelegat, Denmark. Mr Nielsen has an MSc 
in Commerce and Business Administration from the Copenhagen 
Business School, Denmark (1972). The special competences pos-
sessed by Mr Nielsen that are important for the performance of 
his duties are his in-depth knowledge of Novo Nordisk A/S and its 
businesses, his working knowledge of the global pharmaceutical 
industry and his experience with accounting, financial and capital 
market issues. Mr Nielsen has been chairman of the Audit 
Committee at Novo Nordisk A/S since 2004 and is designated 
as financial expert under both Danish and US law.4

Søren Thuesen Pedersen, picture 8
Søren Thuesen Pedersen joined Novo Nordisk in January 1994 
and is currently working as a specialist in Strategic Quality 
Development. Mr Pedersen has been an employee-elected 
member of the Board of Directors of the Novo Nordisk 
Foundation since 2002. Mr Pedersen has a BSc in Chemical 
Engineering from the Danish Academy of Engineers (1988).

Hannu Ryöppönen, picture 9
Hannu Ryöppönen was CFO and deputy CEO of Stora Enso Oyj, 
Finland, until 2009. Before that he was CFO and an executive in 
Royal Ahold, the Netherlands, from 2003 to 2005, and served 
on the Board of Directors of the ICA Group, Sweden, including 
the chairmanship of the Audit Committee. From 1999 to 2003, 
Mr Ryöppönen was finance director of Industri Kapital Group, UK. 
Mr Ryöppönen served as CFO of the IKEA Group, Denmark, from 
1985 to 1998, including a position as deputy CEO in IKANO Asset 
Management from 1998 to 1999. From 1977 to 1985, 
Mr Ryöppönen held various management positions at Chemical 
Bank in the US and the UK, as well as at Alfa Laval in the US and 
Sweden. Mr Ryöppönen is chairman of the Board of Directors of 
Tiimari Oyj, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rautaruukki 
Oyj and a member of the Board of Directors of Neste Oil Oyj, and 
Amer Sports Oyj, all in Finland, and a member of the Board of 
Directors of Korsnäs AB, Sweden. Mr Ryöppönen is also chairman 
of the Audit Committees of Amer Sports Oyj and Rautaruukki Oyj, 
and a member of the Audit Committee of Neste Oil Oyj. Finally, 
Mr Ryöppönen is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Altor 
private equity funds, Altor 2003 GP Limited, Altor Fund II GP Limited 
and Altor III GP Limited, Jersey, Channel Islands, and a member of 
the Board of Directors of the private equity fund Value Creation 
Investments Limited, Jersey, Channel Islands. Mr Ryöppönen has 
a BA in Business Administration from Hanken School of Economics, 

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Helsinki, Finland (1976). The special competences possessed by 
Mr Ryöppönen that are important for the performance of his duties 
are his international executive background and thorough under-
standing of managing finance operations in global organisations, 
in particular in relation to accounting, financing and capital market 
issues, but also his experience within private equity and mergers & 
acquisitions (M&A). Mr Ryöppönen has been a member of the Audit 
Committee at Novo Nordisk A/S since 2009 and is designated as 
financial expert under both Danish and US law.4,5

Stig Strøbæk, picture 10
Stig Strøbæk joined Novo Nordisk in 1992 as an electrician and is 
currently working as a full-time shop steward. Mr Strøbæk has been 
an employee-elected member of the Board of Directors of the Novo 
Nordisk Foundation since 1998. Mr Strøbæk has a diploma in 
electrical engineering and a diploma in further training for board 
members from the Danish Employees’ Capital Pension Fund.

Jørgen Wedel, picture 11
Jørgen Wedel was executive vice president of the Gillette 
Company, US, until 2001. He was responsible for Commercial 
Operations, International, and was a member of Gillette’s 
Corporate Management Group. From 2004 to 2008, he was a 
board member of ELOPAK AS, Norway. Mr Wedel has an MSc 
in Commerce and Business Administration from the Copenhagen 
Business School, Denmark (1972), majoring in accounting and 
financing, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin, US 
(1974). The special competences possessed by Mr Wedel that are 
important for the performance of his duties are his background 
as a senior sales and marketing executive in a global consumer-
oriented company within the fast-moving consumer goods 
industry, as well as particular insight into the US market. In 
addition, he possesses competences in relation to auditing and 
accounting. Mr Wedel has been a member of the Audit 
Committee at Novo Nordisk A/S since 2005, and is designated 
as financial expert under both Danish and US law.4,5

Organisational structure: Senior Management Board

Novo Nordisk
Lars Rebien Sørensen

Research & Development
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen
3,776 employees

Diabetes Research Unit
Peter Kurtzhals

Biopharmaceuticals
Research Unit
Per Falk2 

Device R&D
Jesper Kløve

CMC Supply
Jesper Bøving

Global Development
Peter Kristensen

Regulatory Affairs
Peter Bonne Eriksen

Operations
Kåre Schultz
21,643 employees

Product Supply
Per Valstorp

Finance, Legal and IT
Jesper Brandgaard
4,018 employees1

Legal Affairs
Ole F Ramsby

Biopharmaceuticals
Flemming Dahl

Corporate Finance
Lars Green

Diabetes API
Henrik Wulff

IT & Corporate
Development
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen

Corporate Relations
Lise Kingo
1,044 employees1

Business Assurance
Kim Bundegaard

Global Quality
Lars Guldbæk Karlsen

Corporate People
& Organisation
Lars Christian Lassen

Diabetes Finished Products
Kim Tosti

Devices & Sourcing
Susanne Hundsbæk-
Pedersen

Global Marketing
Jakob Riis

Region China
Ronald Christie2 

Europe
Martin Soeters

Japan & Korea
Claus Eilersen

International Operations
Jesper Høiland

North America
Jerzy Gruhn

1.  Employee total includes those who work for NNE Pharmaplan A/S, NNIT A/S and Steno Diabetes Center A/S. Morten Nielsen (NNE Pharmaplan) and Per Kogut (NNIT) are also members of the Senior 

Management Board.
2.  From 1 January 2011.

52     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
Executive Management

Lars Rebien Sørensen, picture A
Lars Rebien Sørensen joined Novo Nordisk’s Enzymes Marketing 
in 1982. Over the years, he has been stationed in several countries, 
including the Middle East and the US. Mr Sørensen was appointed 
a member of Corporate Management in May 1994, and in December 
1994 he was given special responsibility within Corporate Manage-
ment for Health Care. He was appointed president and CEO in 
Novem ber 2000. Mr Sørensen is a member of the boards of DONG 
Energy A/S and Danmarks Nationalbank, both in Denmark, as well 
as a member of the Bertelsmann AG Supervisory Board, Germany. 
He has an MSc in Forestry from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural 
University (now the Life Sciences Faculty of the University of Copen-
hagen), Denmark (1981), and a BSc in International Economics from 
the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark (1983). He received the 
French award Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur 
in 2005. In October 2007, he became an adjunct professor of the Life 
Sciences Faculty of the University of Copenhagen. Mr Sørensen is a 
Danish national, born on 10 October 1954.

Jesper Brandgaard, picture B
Jesper Brandgaard joined Novo Nordisk in 1999 as corporate 
vice president of Corporate Finance and was appointed CFO in 
November 2000. He serves as chairman of the boards of SimCorp 
A/S, NNE Pharmaplan A/S and NNIT A/S, all in Denmark. 
Mr Brandgaard has an MSc in Economics and Auditing (1990) and an 
MBA (1995), both from the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. 
Mr Brandgaard is a Danish national, born on 12 October 1963.

Lise Kingo, picture C
Lise Kingo joined Novo Nordisk in 1988 and has worked over the 
years to build up the company’s Triple Bottom Line approach. 
Ms Kingo was appointed senior vice president in 1999 and 
executive vice president, Corporate Relations, in 2002. Ms Kingo 
serves as chair of the board of the Steno Diabetes Center A/S, 
Denmark. She is also associate professor of the Medical Faculty, 
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Ms Kingo has a BA 
in Religions and a BA in Ancient Greek Art from the University of 
Aarhus, Denmark (1986), a BComm in Marketing Economics from 
the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark (1991), and an MSc in 
Responsibility and Business Practice from the University of Bath, UK 
(2000). Ms Kingo is a Danish national, born on 3 August 1961.

Kåre Schultz, picture D
Kåre Schultz joined Novo Nordisk in 1989 as an economist in Health 
Care, Economy & Planning. In November 2000, he was appointed 
chief of staffs. In March 2002, he took over the position of COO. 
Mr Schultz is chairman of the Board of Royal Unibrew A/S and a 
member of the board of LEGO A/S, both in Denmark. Mr Schultz has 
an MSc in Economics from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark 
(1987), and is a Danish national, born on 21 May 1961.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, picture E
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen joined Novo Nordisk in 1991. He was 
appointed CSO in November 2000. He sits on the editorial boards 
of international journals and is a member of the board of Cellartis 
AB, Sweden. Dr Thomsen has a DVM from the Royal Veterinary and 
Agricultural University (now the Life Sciences Faculty of the University 
of Copenhagen), Denmark (1986), where he also obtained a PhD 
(1989) and a DSc degree (1991), and became adjunct professor of 
pharmacology (2000). He is a former president of the National 
Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV), Denmark. Dr Thomsen is 
a Danish national, born on 27 December 1960.

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Shares
and capital
structure

We aim to communicate openly with stakeholders about the 
company’s financial and business development as well as 
strategies and targets. Through active dialogue, we seek to 
obtain fair and efficient pricing of the Novo Nordisk share.

To keep investors updated on financial and operating performance 
as well as the progress of clinical programmes, Novo Nordisk 
hosts conference calls with Executive Management following 
key events and the release of financial results, which are also 
accessible by webcast. Executive Management and Investor 
Relations also travel extensively to ensure that all investors with 
a major holding of Novo Nordisk shares can meet with Novo 
Nordisk on a regular basis and that a high number of smaller 
investors or potential investors also have access to the company. 
Roadshows are primarily held in major European and North 
American financial centres.

A wide range of other investor activities are held during the 
year. Investors and financial analysts are welcome to visit our 
headquarters in Bagsværd, Denmark, as well as our regional 
offices. In 2010, meetings with investor groups were held in 
Princeton, US, Beijing, China, Zürich, Switzerland, and Tokyo, 
Japan. Investors and analysts are also invited every year to 
presentations of the most recent scientific results in connection 
with the two major scientific diabetes conferences, the American 
Diabetes Association and the European Association for the 
Study of Diabetes. We expect to host similar investor events 
in 2011.

Share price performance
Novo Nordisk’s share price increased by 89% from its 2009 close 
of 332 Danish kroner to its 31 December 2010 close of 629 kroner. 
This was more than the 2010 performance of the NASDAQ OMX 
Copenhagen 20 Index, which increased by 36%. In 2009, Novo 
Nordisk’s share price and the NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen 20 
Index increased by 22.5% and 36%, respectively.

In 2010, Novo Nordisk’s share price increased more than the 
MSCI Europe Health Care Index, which increase by 5% measured 
in Danish kroner. Measured in US dollars, the price of the Novo 
Nordisk B share increased by 76%, above the dollar gain of 1% 
for the MSCI US Health Care Index. The positive development of 
the company’s share price is most likely a reflection of a relatively 
solid position in a growing market with strong operating perfor-
mance and ongoing progress in research and development.

In 2010, factors believed to have impacted the share price 
positively include a solid operating performance bolstered by 
steady sales growth, driven by modern insulins and Victoza®. 
Continuous productivity increases also contributed to a solid 
improvement in the gross margin of around 1.2 percentage 
points in 2010.

54     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

As the global launch of Victoza® progresses, with the product 
now commercially available in 16 European countries, the US, 
Canada, Japan and five countries in International Operations, the 
encouraging launch performance and significant expansion of 
the GLP-1 class in key markets such as the US, UK, Germany and 
France by the end of 2010, are believed to have impacted the 
share price positively.

Within research and development particular focus has been on 
the development of Degludec and DegludecPlus, Novo Nordisk’s 
two new-generation insulin projects, where the phase 3 clinical 
programme has provided encouraging results, is also believed to 
have had a positive impact on the share price.

Capital structure
The Board of Directors believes that the current capital and share 
structure of Novo Nordisk serves the interests of the shareholders 
and the company. Our guiding policy is that any excess capital, 
after the funding of organic growth opportunities and potential 
acquisitions, is returned to investors. We apply a pharmaceutical 
industry payout ratio to dividend payments complemented by 
long-term share repurchase programmes.

As decided at the 2010 Annual General Meeting, a reduction of 
the company’s B share capital, corresponding to approximately 
3.2% of the total share capital, was effected in June 2010 by 
cancellation of treasury shares. This enables Novo Nordisk to 

Price development 
and monthly turn-
over of Novo 
Nordisk’s B shares
on NASDAQ OMX 
Copenhagen 2010

  Novo Nordisk’s B share
  closing prices in DKK (left)
■  Turnover of B shares 
in DKK billion (right)

DKK

750

600

450

300

150

0

DKK billion

15

12

9

6

3

0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Index: 2 January 2006 = 100

Price development 
of Novo Nordisk’s 
B shares relative to
the MSCI Europe
Health Care Index 
measured in DKK

  Novo Nordisk’s B

shares (prices in DKK)
  MSCI Europe Health

Care Index

500

400

300

200

100

0

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Index: 2 January 2006 = 100

Price development 
of Novo Nordisk’s 
B shares relative
to the MSCI US
Health Care Index 
measured in USD

  Novo Nordisk’s B

shares (prices in USD)

  MSCI US Health

Care Index

500

400

300

200

100

0

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

 
 
 
Dividend payments
and payout ratio
■  Dividend for the year (left)

Payout ratio (right)

* 2007 and 2008 payout ratio adjusted
for the AERx® discontinuation cost
and the divestment of Dako’s business
activities.

** Pending approval at the 2011 Annual
General Meeting. 2010 payout ratio
adjusted for ZymoGenetics divestment.

DKK

10

8

6

4

2

0

%

50

45

40

35

30

2006

2007*

2008*

2009 2010E**

Breakdown of shareholders 
% of capital

■ Novo A/S, Bagsværd,

Denmark 25.5% (72.8%)*
■ Novo Nordisk A/S 4.7% (0%)*
■ Other 69.8% (27.2%)*

 * % of votes, excl treasury shares.

Geographical distribution 
of share capital 
% of capital

■ Denmark 44%
■ North America 26%
■ UK 23%
■ Other 7%

continue to buy back shares without exceeding the limit for a 
total holding of treasury shares of 10% of the total share capital.

In 2010, Novo Nordisk repurchased shares worth 9.5 billion 
Danish kroner, compared to 6.5 billion kroner in 2009. During 
2010 the share repurchase programme was expanded twice, 
each time by 1 billion kroner. The first expansion was announced 
on 5 August at the half-year financial release due to improved 
outlook for free cash flow generation in 2010. The second 
expansion was announced on 27 October due to the divestment 
of Novo Nordisk’s ownership in ZymoGenetics, Inc.

For 2011, Novo Nordisk has initiated a new share repurchase 
programme with an expected total repurchase value of B shares 
amounting to a cash value of 10 billion kroner. Since 2008, the 
share repurchase programme has primarily been conducted in 
accordance with the provisions of European Commission 
Regulation no. 2273/2003 of 22 December 2003, also known as 
the ‘Safe Harbour Regulation’. This programme gives the selected 
financial institutions the mandate to purchase shares 
independently of Novo Nordisk A/S.

At the 2011 Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors will 
propose a further reduction of the company’s B share capital, 

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corresponding to approximately 3.3% of the total share capital, 
by cancellation of 20 million treasury shares.

Share capital and ownership
Novo Nordisk’s total share capital of 600,000,000 Danish kroner 
is divided into A share capital of nominally 107,487,200 kroner 
and B share capital of nominally 492,512,800 kroner, of which 
28,206,755 kroner is held as treasury shares (figures as of 31 
December 2010). The company’s A shares (each 1 krone) are not 
listed and are held by Novo A/S, a Danish public limited liability 
company which is 100% owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. 
More information on share capital is included in note 18 on p 76.

According to the Articles of Association of the Foundation, the 
A shares cannot be divested by Novo A/S or the Foundation. As 
of 31 December 2010, Novo A/S also held 45,512,800 kroner of 
B share capital. Each holding of 1 krone of the A share capital 
carries 1,000 votes. Each holding of 1 krone of the B share capital 
carries 100 votes. With 25.5% of the total share capital, Novo A/S 
controls 72.8% of the total number of votes, excluding treasury 
shares. The total market value of Novo Nordisk’s B shares 
excluding treasury shares was 292 billion kroner at the end of 
2010.

Novo Nordisk’s B shares are quoted on the NASDAQ OMX 
Copenhagen and on the New York Stock Exchange in the form 
of ADRs. The B shares are traded in units of 1 krone and the ratio 
of Novo Nordisk’s B shares to ADRs is 1:1. The B shares are issued 
to the bearer but may, on request, be registered in the holder’s 
name in Novo Nordisk’s register of shareholders. As Novo Nordisk 
B shares are in bearer form, no official record of all shareholders 
exists. In March, Novo Nordisk’s B shares were delisted from the 
London Stock Exchange. Based on available sources of infor-
mation on the company’s shareholders as of 31 December 2010, 
it is estimated that shares were distributed as shown in the charts 
on this page. At the end of 2010, the free float was 69.8%.

Form 20-F
The Form 20-F Report for 2010 is expected to be filed with the 
United States Securities and Exchange Commission in February 
2011. The report can be downloaded from novonordisk.com/
investors.

Payment of dividends
Shareholders’ enquiries concerning dividend payments, transfer 
of share certificates, consolidation of shareholder accounts and 
tracking of lost shares should be addressed to Novo Nordisk’s 
transfer agents (see back cover). Novo Nordisk does not pay a 
dividend on its holding of treasury shares. As illustrated in the 
figure above, Novo Nordisk has consistently increased both the 
payout rate and the paid dividend over the last five years. The 
dividend for 2009 paid in March 2010 was 7.50 Danish kroner 
per share of 1 krone.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     55

 
 
 
The proposed dividend payments for Novo Nordisk shares are 
noted in the table below:

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Proposed dividend payment for 2010

A shares of DKK 1 

B shares of DKK 1 

ADRs

DKK 10.00 

DKK 10.00 

DKK 10.00

Analyst coverage
Our company is currently covered by more than 35 analysts, 
including the major global investment banks that regularly produce 
research reports about Novo Nordisk. A list of analysts covering 
Novo Nordisk can be found at novonordisk.com/investors.

Internet
Our homepage for investors is novonordisk.com/investors. It 
includes historical and updated information about Novo Nordisk’s 
activities: press releases from 1995 onwards, financial and 
non-financial results, a calendar of investor-relevant events, 
investor presentations, background information and recent 
annual reports.

Financial calendar 2011

Annual general meeting 23 March 2011

Dividend 
Ex-dividend 
Record date 
Payment 

B shares 
24 March 2011 
28 March 2011 
29 March 2011 

ADRs
24 March 2011
28 March 2011
5 April 2011

Announcement of financial results
First three months 
Half year 
First nine months 
Full year 

28 April 2011
4 August 2011
27 October 2011
2 February 2012

56     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Consolidated
financial and
non-financial
statements
2010

   58  Income statement and Statement of comprehensive income
  59  Balance sheet
  60  Statement of cash fl ows
  61  Statement of changes in equity
  62  Notes to the Consolidated fi nancial statements
  92  Financial defi nitions
  93  Supplementary information

  93  Consolidated non-fi nancial statement
  94  Notes to the Consolidated non-fi nancial statement
100  Summary of fi nancial data 2006 –2010 in EUR
101  Quarterly fi nancial fi gures 2009 and 2010
102  Financial statements of the Parent company
109  Management’s statement
110  Auditor’s Reports

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     57

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Income statement and Statement of comprehensive income for the year ended 31 December

DKK million 

Income statement

Sales  
Cost of goods sold 

Gross profi t 

Sales and distribution costs 
Research and development costs 
Administrative expenses 
Licence fees and other operating income, net 

Operating profi t 

Share of profi t/(loss) of associated companies, net of tax 
Financial income 
Financial expenses 

Profi t before income taxes 

Income taxes 

Net profi t for the year 

Earnings per share:
Basic earnings per share (DKK) 
Diluted earnings per share (DKK) 

Note 

2010 

2009 

2008

2, 3 
2, 4, 6 

60,776 
11,680 

51,078 
10,438 

45,553
10,109

49,096 

40,640 

35,444

2, 4, 6 
2, 4, 6 
2, 4, 5, 6 
2, 4 

18,195 
9,602 
3,065 
657 

15,420 
7,864 
2,764 
341 

12,866
7,856
2,635
286

18,891 

14,933 

12,373

13 
7 
8 

1,070 
382 
2,057 

(55) 
375 
1,265 

(124)
1,127
681

18,286 

13,988 

12,695

9 

3,883 

3,220 

14,403 

10,768 

3,050

9,645

10 
10 

24.81 
24.60 

17.97 
17.82 

15.66
15.54

Statement of comprehensive income

Net profi t for the year 

14,403 

10,768 

9,645

Other comprehensive income
Deferred gains/(losses) on cash fl ow hedges arising during the period  
Transfer of deferred gains/(losses) from previous year of cash fl ow hedges 
recognised in the Income statement as part of fi nancial income/(expenses) 
Exchange rate adjustment of investments in subsidiaries  
Share of other comprehensive income of associated companies, net of tax 
Gains/(losses) on available-for-sale fi nancial assets (equity investments)  
Other  
Tax on other comprehensive income, income/(expense)  

Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax 

(643) 

(422) 
300 
(9) 
(14) 
27 
346 

(415) 

352 

900 
528 
9 
(1) 
10 
(25) 

(940)

(615)
(473)
39
(9)
(45)
81

1,773 

(1,962)

9 

Total comprehensive income for the year 

13,988 

12,541 

7,683

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58     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Balance sheet at 31 December

DKK million 

Assets

Intangible assets 
Property, plant and equipment 
Investments in associated companies 
Deferred income tax assets 
Other non-current fi nancial assets 

Total non-current assets 

Inventories 
Trade receivables 
Tax receivables 
Other current assets 
Marketable securities and derivative fi nancial instruments 
Cash at bank and in hand 

Total current assets 

Total assets 

Equity and liabilities

Share capital 
Treasury shares 
Retained earnings 
Other reserves 

Total equity 

Non-current debt 
Deferred income tax liabilities 
Retirement benefi t obligations 
Provisions for other liabilities 

Total non-current liabilities 

Current debt and derivative fi nancial instruments  
Trade payables 
Tax payables 
Other current liabilities 
Provisions for other liabilities 

Total current liabilities 

Total liabilities 

Total equity and liabilities 

Note 

2010 

2009

11 
12 
13 
20 
14 

15 
14, 16 

17 
14 
14 

18 
18 

14, 19 
20 
21 
22 

23 
14 

24 
22 

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1,458 
20,507 
43 
1,847 
254 

1,037
19,226
176
1,455
182

24,109 

22,076

9,689 
8,500 
650 
2,403 
4,034 
12,017 

10,016
7,063
799
1,962
1,530
11,296

37,293 

32,666

61,402 

54,742

600 
(28) 
36,097 
296 

620
(32)
34,435
711

36,965 

35,734

504 
2,865 
569 
2,023 

5,961 

1,720 
2,906 
1,252 
7,954 
4,644 

970
3,010
456
1,157

5,593

418
2,242
701
6,813
3,241

18,476 

13,415

24,437 

19,008

61,402 

54,742

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     59

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Statement of cash fl ows for the year ended 31 December

DKK million 

Net profi t for the year 

Adjustments for non-cash items:
    Income taxes 
    Depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses 
    Net interest, (income)/expense 
    Other adjustments for non-cash items 
Income taxes paid 
Interest received  
Interest paid 

Note 

2010 

2009 

2008

14,403 

10,768 

9,645

9 
6 
7, 8 
25 

3,883 
2,467 
265 
1,834 
(3,436) 
218 
(252) 

3,220 
2,551 
71 
859 
(1,998) 
284 
(98) 

3,050
2,442
(385)
614
(3,172)
656
(247)

Cash fl ow before change in working capital 

19,382 

15,657 

12,603

(Increase)/decrease in trade receivables and other current assets 
(Increase)/decrease in inventories 
Increase/(decrease) in trade payables and other current liabilities 
Currency translation 

Cash fl ow from operating activities 

Proceeds from the divestment of ZymoGenetics, Inc. 
Purchase of intangible assets and non-current fi nancial assets 
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 
Purchase of property, plant and equipment 
Net change in marketable securities 
Dividend received 

Cash fl ow from investing activities 

Repayment of non-current debt 
Purchase of treasury shares 
Proceeds from sale of treasury shares  
Dividends paid to the Parent company’s owners 

Cash fl ow from fi nancing activities 

Net cash fl ow 

Unrealised gain/(loss) on exchange rates, included in cash and cash equivalents 

Net change in cash and cash equivalents 

(1,878) 
327 
1,805 
43 

(740) 
(405) 
921 
(55) 

(700)
(591)
1,228
323

19,679 

15,378 

12,863

1,155 
(521) 
68 
(3,376) 
(2,913) 
8 

– 
(433) 
1 
(2,632) 
– 
18 

–
(264)
18
(1,772)
466
170

(5,579) 

(3,046) 

(1,382)

– 
(9,498) 
678 
(4,400) 

– 
(6,512) 
117 
(3,650) 

(153)
(4,717)
295
(2,795)

(13,220) 

(10,045) 

(7,370)

11, 14 

12 

13 

18 
18 
10 

2,287 

4,111

880 

46 

926 

21 

2,308 

8,726 

(2)

4,109

4,617

8,726

8,726
997
7,451

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 

26 

11,034 

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 

11,960 

11,034 

Additional information:
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 
Marketable securities at the end of the year 
Undrawn committed credit facilities 1) 

26 
14 

11,960 
3,926 
4,473 

11,034 
1,013 
4,465 

Financial resources at the end of the year 

20,359 

16,512 

17,174

Cash fl ow from operating activities 
Cash fl ow from investing activities  
Net change in marketable securities 

Free cash fl ow 

19,679 
(5,579) 
2,913 

15,378 
(3,046) 
– 

12,863
(1,382)
(466)

17,013 

12,332 

11,015

1)  At year-end, the Group had an undrawn committed credit facility amounting to DKK 4,473 million (DKK 4,465 million in 2009). The undrawn committed credit facility is a 

EUR 600 million facility committed by a number of Danish and international banks. The facility matures in 2012.

60     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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350 

350 

(415) 

(415)

(415) 

13,988

(4,400)
463
(9,498)
678

0

Statement of changes in equity at 31 December

Share 
capital 

Treasury 
shares 

Retained 
earnings

Other reserves 

Total

Exchange  
rate 
adjust- 
ments 

Deferred 
gain/(loss)  
on cash 
fl ow 
hedges 

Tax and  
other 
adjust- 
ments 

Total 
other 
reserves 

DKK million 

2010

Balance at the beginning of the year 

620 

(32) 

34,435 

271 

393 

47 

711 

35,734

Net profi t for the year 
Other comprehensive income for the year, 
net of tax 

14,403 

14,403

300 

(1,065) 

Total comprehensive income for the year 

14,403 

300 

(1,065) 

Transactions with owners, recognised 
directly in equity:
Dividends (refer to note 10) 
Share-based payments (refer to note 28) 
Purchase of treasury shares (refer to note 18) 
Sale of treasury shares (refer to note 18) 
Reduction of the B share capital 
(refer to note 18) 

Balance at the end of the year 

(20) 

600 

(4,400) 
463 
(9,478) 
674 

(20) 
4 

20 

(28) 

36,097 

571 

(672) 

397 

296 

36,965

Share 
capital 

Treasury 
shares 

Retained 
earnings

Other reserves 

Total

Exchange  
rate 
adjust- 
ments 

Deferred 
gain/(loss)  
on cash 
fl ow 
hedges 

Tax and  
other 
adjust- 
ments 

Total 
other 
reserves 

DKK million 

2009

Balance at the beginning of the year 

634 

(26) 

33,433 

(256) 

(859) 

53 

(1,062) 

32,979

Net profi t for the year 
Other comprehensive income for the year, 
net of tax 

Total comprehensive income for the year 

10,768 

10,768 

10,768

527 

527 

1,252 

1,252 

(6) 

(6) 

1,773 

1,773

1,773 

12,541

Transactions with owners, recognised 
directly in equity:
Dividends (refer to note 10) 
Share-based payments (refer to note 28) 
Purchase of treasury shares (refer to note 18) 
Sale of treasury shares (refer to note 18) 
Reduction of the B share capital 
(refer to note 18) 

Balance at the end of the year 

(14) 

620 

(3,650) 
259 
(6,490) 
115 

(22) 
2 

14 

(3,650)
259
(6,512)
117

0

(32) 

34,435 

271 

393 

47 

711 

35,734

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     61

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Notes to the Consolidated fi nancial statements

1   Basis of preparation of the consolidated 
     fi nancial statements

The Consolidated fi nancial statements have been prepared in accordance 
with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the 
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), as well as in accordance 
with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as endorsed by the 
European Union. 

Furthermore, the Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with 
ad  d  itional Danish disclosure requirements for the annual reports of listed 
companies. 

The Consolidated fi nancial statements have been prepared on the historical 
cost basis except for the revaluation of available-for-sale fi nancial assets 
such as equity investments and marketable securities measured at fair value 
through Other comprehensive income and derivative fi nancial instruments 
measured at fair value through Income statement.

Key accounting estimates and assumptions

The use of reasonable estimates is an essential part of the preparation of 
the Consolidated fi nancial statements in conformity with IFRS as issued by 
the IASB and IFRS as endorsed by the European Union. Management is 
required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the application of 
accounting policies and reported amounts of assets, liabilities, sales, costs, 
cash fl ow and related disclosures at the date(s) of the Consolidated fi nancial 
statements.

Management bases its estimates on historical experience and various other 
assumptions that are held to be reasonable under the circumstances. These 
form the basis for making judgements about the reported fi nancial position 
and result of operations and cash fl ow that are not readily apparent from 
other sources. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The esti-
mates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis and, 
if necessary, changes are recognised in the period in which the estimate is 
revised. 

Management regards the following to be the key accounting estimates and 
assumptions used in the preparation of the Consolidated fi nancial state-
ments.

Sales rebates and provisions
The Group has provisions and accruals for expected sales rebates, whole-
saler charge-backs and other rebates, including Medicaid in the United 
States and similar rebates in other countries. 

Such estimates are based on analyses of existing contractual or legal obliga-
tions, historical trends and the Group’s experience. They are calculated 
on the basis of a percentage of sales for each product as defi ned by the 
contracts with the various customer groups.

Sales discounts and sales rebates are predominantly issued in Region 
North America. In that region, signifi cant sales rebates and discounts com-
prise rebates from sales covered by Medicare and Medicaid, the US state 
and federal programmes for public healthcare insurance.

Provisions for Medicaid and Medicare rebates have been calculated using a 
combination of historical experience, product and population growth, price 
increases, the impact of contracting strategies and specifi c terms in the 
individual agreements. For Medicaid, the calculation of rebates involves 
 in ter pretation  of relevant regulations that are subject to challenge or 
change in interpretative guidance by government authorities. Although 
ac  cruals are made for Medicaid and Medicare rebates at the time sales are 
recorded, the actual rebates related to the specifi c sale will typically be 
invoiced to Novo Nordisk up to six months later. Due to the time lag, the 
rebate adjustments to sales in any particular period may incorporate 
revisions of accruals for prior periods.

62     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

Customer rebates are offered to a number of managed healthcare plans. 
These rebate programmes imply that the customer receives a rebate after 
attaining certain performance parameters relating to product purchases, 
formulary status and pre-established market share milestones relative 
to competitors. Since they are contractually agreed upon, rebates are 
esti mated according to the specifi c terms in each agreement, historical 
 experience, anticipated channel mix, product growth rates and market 
share information. Novo Nordisk considers the sales performance of pro-
ducts subject to managed healthcare rebates and other contract discounts, 
and adjusts the provision periodically to refl ect actual experience. 

Wholesaler charge-backs relate to contractual arrangements existing 
between Novo Nordisk and indirect customers, mainly in the US, whereby 
products are sold at prices lower than the list price charged to wholesalers. 
A wholesaler charge-back represents the difference between the invoice 
price to the wholesaler and the indirect customer’s contract price. Provisions 
are calculated for estimated charge-backs using a combination of factors 
such as historical experience, current wholesaler inventory levels, contract 
terms and the value of claims received but not yet processed. Wholesaler 
charge-backs are generally settled within one to three months of incurring 
the liability.

The carrying amount of provisions for sales rebates is DKK 4,364 million as 
at 31 December 2010. Please refer to note 22 for further information on 
provisions for sales rebates. Furthermore, please refer to note 3 for a gross-
to-net sales reconciliation.

Novo Nordisk considers the provision, established for sales rebates to 
be reasonable and appropriate based on currently available information. 
However, the actual amount of rebates and discounts may differ from 
the amounts estimated by Management as better information becomes 
available. 

Indirect production costs (IPCs)
Production costs for work in progress and fi nished goods include IPCs such 
as employee costs, depreciation, maintenance etc.

IPCs are measured based on a standard cost method which is reviewed 
regularly to ensure relevant measures of utilisation, production lead time 
and other relevant factors. Changes in the parameters for calculation of 
IPCs, including utilisation levels, production lead time etc could have an 
 im pact on the gross margin and the overall valuation of inventories. 

The carrying amount of IPCs on inventory is DKK 5,090 million as at 
31 December 2010. Please refer to note 15 for further information.

Allowances for doubtful trade receivables
Trade receivables are stated at amortised cost less allowances for potential 
losses on doubtful trade receivables. 

Novo Nordisk maintains allowances for doubtful trade receivables in anti-
cipation of estimated losses resulting from the subsequent inability of 
customers to make required payments. If the fi nancial circumstances of the 
customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability 
to make payments, additional allowances could be required in future 
periods. Management analyses trade receivables and examines historical 
bad debt, customer concentrations, customer creditworthiness, current 
 economic trends and changes in customer payment terms when evaluating 
the  adequacy of the allowance for doubtful trade receivables. 

The carrying amount of allowances for doubtful trade receivables is DKK 
627 million as at 31 December 2010. Please refer to note 16 for further 
information.

Provisions and contingencies
Deferred income tax assets and liabilities 
Novo Nordisk recognises deferred income tax assets if it is probable that 
suffi cient taxable income will be available in the future against which the 
temporary differences and unused tax losses can be utilised. Management 
has considered future taxable income in assessing whether deferred income 
tax assets should be recognised. 

The carrying amount of deferred income tax assets and deferred income 
tax liabilities is DKK 1,847 million and DKK 2,865 million respectively as at 
31 December 2010. Please refer to note 20 for further information. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Returned products
The Group has recorded provisions for expected product returns. The 
provision is based on an analysis of the estimated rate of return, which is 
determined based on historical experience of customer returns or 
con sidering any other relevant factors.

The carrying amount of provision for product returns is DKK 534 million as 
at 31 December 2010. Please refer to note 22 for further information.

Other provisions
Other provisions consist of various types of provisions, including provisions 
for legal disputes. Management makes judgements about provisions and 
contingencies, including the probability of pending and potential future 
litigation outcomes that by their very nature are dependent on inherently 
uncertain future events. When determining likely outcomes of litigations 
etc, Management considers the evaluation of external counsel knowledge-
able about each case, as well as known outcomes in case law.

Provisions for pending litigations are recognised as part of other provisions. 
The carrying amount of other provisions is DKK 1,769 million as at 
31 December 2010. Please refer to note 22 for further information and 
note 31 for a description of signifi cant litigations pending.

Although Management believes that the total provisions for legal pro-
ceedings are adequate based upon currently available information, there 
can be no assurance that there will not be an increase in the scope of these 
matters or that any future lawsuits, claims, proceedings or investigations 
will not be material.

Accounting policies

The accounting policies set out below have been applied con sistently in 
the preparation of the Consolidated fi nancial statements for all the years 
presented.

Adoption of new and revised IFRSs
Novo Nordisk has adopted all new or amended and revised accounting 
standards and interpretations (‘IFRSs’) issued by IASB and IFRSs endorsed 
by the European Union effective for the accounting year 2010. Based on 
an analysis made by Novo Nordisk, the application of the new IFRSs has not 
had a material impact on the Consolidated fi nancial statements in 2010 
and we do not anticipate any signifi cant impact on future periods from the 
adoption of these new IFRSs.

New IFRSs that have been issued but not yet come into effect
In addition to the above, IASB has issued a number of new or amended 
and revised accounting standards and interpretations (‘IFRSs’) which have 
been endorsed by the European Union but not yet come into effect. Novo 
Nordisk has thoroughly assessed the impact of these IFRSs that are not yet 
effective and determined that we do not anticipate any signifi cant impact 
on the Consolidated fi nancial statements from the adoption of these 
standards. 

Furthermore, IASB has issued IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ which is 
required to be adopted by 1 January 2013. This is part of the IASB’s project 
to replace IAS 39 and the new standard will substantially change the clas-
sifi cation and measurement of fi nancial instruments and hedging require-
ments. IFRS 9 has not been endorsed by the European Union, and a decision 
to do so is currently postponed. Novo Nordisk has assessed the impact of 
the standard and determined that it will not have signifi cant impact on the 
Consolidated fi nancial statements.

Principles of consolidation
The Consolidated fi nancial statements incorporate the fi nancial statements 
of Novo Nordisk A/S and entities controlled by Novo Nordisk A/S. The results 
of subsidiaries acquired or disposed of during the year are included in the 
consolidated income statement from the effective date of acquisition and 
up to the effective date of disposal, as appropriate. Comparative fi gures are 
not adjusted for disposed or acquired companies.

Where necessary, adjustments are made to the fi nancial statements of sub-
sidiaries to bring their accounting policies in line with the Group policies. 
All intra-Group transactions, balances, income and expenses are eliminated 
in full on consolidation.

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When the Group looses control of a subsidiary, the profi t or loss on disposal 
is calculated as the difference between (i) the aggregate of the fair value of 
the consideration received and the fair value of any retained interest and 
(ii) the previous carrying amount of the assets (including goodwill) and 
liabilities of the subsidiary. The fair value of any investment retained in the 
former subsidiary at the date when control is lost is regarded as the fair 
value on initial recognition for subsequent accounting as equity investment 
or, when applicable, the cost on initial recognition of an investment in 
associated companies.

Translation of foreign currencies
Functional and presentation currency
Items included in the fi nancial statements of each of the Group’s entities 
are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in 
which the entity operates (functional currency). The Consolidated fi nancial 
statements are presented in Danish kroner, which is the functional and 
presentation currency of the Parent company.

Translation of transactions and balances
Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency 
using the exchange rates prevaling at the dates of the transactions. Foreign 
 exchange gains and loses resulting from the settlement of such trans actions 
and from the translation at year-end exchange rates of monetary assets and 
liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the Income 
statement.

Translation differences on non-monetary items, such as fi nancial assets 
classifi ed as available for sale, are included in the fair value reserve in Other 
comprehensive income. 

Translation of Group companies
Financial statements of foreign subsidiaries are translated into Danish 
kroner at the exchange rates ruling at the end of the reporting period for 
assets and liabilities, and at average exchange rates for Income statement 
items. 

All effects of currency translation are recognised in the Income statement 
with the exception of exchange gains and losses arising from:

•  the translation of foreign subsidiaries’ net assets at the beginning of the 

year at the exchange rates at the end of the reporting period

•  the translation of foreign subsidiaries’ income statements using average 
exchange rates, whereas balance sheet items are translated using the 
exchange rates prevailing at the end of the reporting period

•  the translation of non-current intra-Group receivables that are con sidered 

to be an addition to net investments in subsidiaries
•  the translation of investments in associated companies

The above exchange gains and losses are recognised in Other comprehen-
sive income.

Sales and revenue recognition
Sales are measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receiv-
able. Sales are reduced for realised and estimated customer returns, rebates 
and other similar allowances.

Revenue from the sale of goods is recognised when all the following condi-
tions are satisfi ed:

•  the Group has transferred to the buyer the signifi cant risks and rewards 

of ownership of the goods

•  the Group retains neither continuing managerial involvement to the 

degree usually associated with ownership nor effective control over the 
goods sold

•  the amount of revenue can be measured reliably
•  it is probable that the economic benefi ts associated with the transaction 

will fl ow to the entity and

•  the costs incurred or to be incurred in respect of the transaction can be 

measured reliably

Provisions for rebates and discounts granted to government agencies, 
whole salers, retail pharmacies, managed care and other customers are 
recorded as a reduction of revenue at the time the related revenues 
are  recorded or when the incentives are offered. They are calculated on 
the basis of historical experience and the specifi c terms in the individual 
agreements. The sales rebate accruals and provisions are included in Other 
current liabilities and Provisions for other liabilities.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     63

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Where there is a historical experience or a reasonably accurate estimate of 
expected future returns can otherwise be made, a provision for estimated 
sales returns is recorded. Revenue recognition for new product launches 
is based on specifi c facts and circumstances relating to those products, 
 including estimated demand and acceptance rates for well-established 
products with similar market characteristics. Where shipments of new or 
 existing products are made on a sale or return basis, without suffi cient 
historical experience for estimating sales returns, revenue is only recorded 
when there is evidence of consumption or when the right of return has 
expired.

Provisions for revenue deductions are adjusted to actual amounts as 
 rebates, discounts and returns are processed.

Research and development
All internal research costs are expensed in the Income statement as 
 incur red. 

Due to the long duration and signifi cant uncertainties relating to the 
development of new products, including risks associated with clinical trials 
and regulatory approval, it is concluded that the Group’s internal develop-
ment costs in general do not meet the capitalisation criteria. This is because 
the technical feasibility criteria are not considered to be fulfi lled until a 
high probability of regulatory approval can be determined. Hence, internal 
research and development costs are expensed in the Income statement as 
incurred. The same principles are used for property, plant and equipment 
with no alternative use developed as part of a research and development 
project. However, property, plant and equipment with alternative use or 
used for general research and development purposes are capitalised and 
depreciated over their estimated useful lives.

For acquired in-process research and development projects, the effect 
of probability is refl ected in the cost of the asset, and the probability 
recogni tion criteria are therefore always considered satisfi ed. As the cost 
of acquired in-process research and development projects can often be 
measured reliably, these projects fulfi l the capitalisation criteria as intangible 
assets upon acquisition. However, further internal development costs 
subsequent to acquisition are treated in the same way as other internal 
development costs.

Licence fees and other operating income
Licence fees and other operating income comprise licence fees and income 
of a secondary nature in relation to the main activities of the Group. Non- 
Group net profi t from the two wholly owned subsidiaries NNIT A/S and 
NNE Pharmaplan A/S is recognised as other operating income. Licence fees 
are recognised on an accrual basis in accordance with the terms and sub-
stance of the relevant agreement. Licence fees and other operating income 
also include non-recurring income items in respect of sale of intellectual 
property rights.

Intangible assets
Goodwill
Goodwill represents any cost in excess of identifi able net assets, measured 
at fair value, in the acquired company. Goodwill recorded under Intangible 
assets is related to subsidiaries. 

Patents and licences
Patents and licences, including acquired patents and licences for in-process 
research and development projects, are carried at historical cost less ac-
cumulated amortisation and any impairment loss. Amortisation is calculated 
using the straight-line method to allocate the cost of patents and licences 
over their estimated useful lives. Estimated useful life is the shorter of the 
legal duration and the economic useful life. The estimated useful life of 
intangible assets is regularly reviewed. The amortisation of patents and 
licenses begins after regulatory approval has been obtained, which is the 
point in time from which the intangible asset is available for use in the 
production of the product.

Other intangible assets
Internal development of computer software and other development costs 
related to major IT projects for internal use that are directly attributable 
to the design and testing of identifi able and unique software products 
controlled by the Group are recognised as intangible assets under Other 
intangible assets if the recognition criteria are met. The computer software 
has to be a signifi cant business system and the expenditure will lead to 
the creation of a durable asset.

When assessing whether an internally generated intangible asset qualifi es 
for recognition, it is required that the related internal development project is 
at a suffi ciently advanced stage and that the project is economically viable. 
Amortisation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated 
useful life of 3 –10 years. The amortisation commences when the asset is 
available for use, ie when it is in the location and condition necessary for it 
to be capable of operating in the manner intended by Management.

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment are measured at historical cost less accu-
mulated depreciation and any impairment loss. The cost of self-constructed 
assets includes costs directly attributable to the construction of the assets. 
Subsequent cost is included in the asset’s carrying amount or recognised 
as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future 
economic benefi ts associated with the item will fl ow to the Group and 
the cost of the item can be measured reliably. In general, constructions of 
major investments are self-fi nanced and thus no material interest on loans 
 (borrowings) is capitalised as part of the cost.

Depreciation is provided under the straight-line method over the estimated 
useful lives of the assets as follows: 

•  Buildings: 12 – 50 years
•  Plant and machinery: 5 –16 years
•  Other equipment: 3 –16 years
•  Land: not depreciated

The assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed and adjusted, 
if  appropriate, at the end of each reporting period. An asset’s carrying 
amount is written down to its recoverable amount if the asset’s carrying 
amount is higher than its estimated recoverable amount. 

Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds 
with the carrying amount and are recognised in the Income statement.

Leasing
Leases are classifi ed as fi nance leases whenever the terms of the lease 
substantially transfer all the risks and rewards of ownership to the lessee. 
All other leases are classifi ed as operating leases. The use of fi nance leases 
in the Consolidated fi nancial statements is immaterial and they are part 
of property, plant and equipment.

Operating lease payments are recognised in the Income statement as an 
expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term, except where another 
systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which eco-
nomic benefi ts from the leased asset are consumed. Contingent rentals 
arising under operating leases are recognised as an expense in the period in 
which they are incurred. 

Impairment of assets 
Intangible assets with an indefi nite useful life and intangible  assets not yet 
available for use are not subject to amortisation and are tested annually 
for impairment irrespective of whether there is any indication that they may 
be impaired.

Assets that are subject to amortisation, such as intangible assets in use 
or with defi nite useful life and other non-current assets, are reviewed for 
impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the 
carrying amount may not be recoverable. Factors considered material by 
the Group that could trigger an impairment test include the following:

•  Development of a competing drug
•  Changes in the legal framework covering patents, rights or licences
•  Advances in medicine and/or technology that affect the medical treat-

ments

•  Lower-than-predicted sales
•  Adverse impact on reputation and/or brand names
•  Changes in the economic lives of similar assets
•  Relationship with other intangible or tangible assets
•  Changes or anticipated changes in participation rates or reimbursement 

policies.

If the carrying amount of goodwill, intangible assets or other non-current 
assets exceeds the recoverable amount based upon the existence of one or 
more of the above indicators of impairment, any impairment is measured 
based on discounted projected cash fl ows.

64     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
Intangible assets and other non-fi nancial assets (other than goodwill) that 
have suffered impairments are reviewed at each reporting date for possible 
reversal of the impairment.

Investments in associated companies
Investments in associated companies are accounted for under the equity 
method of accounting (ie at the respective share of the associated 
 com panies’ net asset value applying Group accounting policies). Goodwill 
 relating to associated companies is recorded as part of the investment 
under Investments in associated companies.

Financial assets
The Group classifi es its investments in the following categories:

•  Available-for-sale fi nancial assets 
•  Loans and receivables
•  Financial assets at fair value (derivatives)

The classifi cation depends on the purpose for which the investments were 
acquired. Management determines the classifi cation of its investments on 
initial recognition and re-evaluates this at the end of every reporting period 
to the extent that such a classifi cation is permitted and required.

Recognition and measurement
Purchases and sales of investments are recognised on the settlement date. 
Investments are initially recognised at fair value. 

Available-for-sale fi nancial assets and fi nancial assets at fair value 
are  subsequently carried at fair value. Loans and receivables are carried at 
amortised cost using the effective interest method. 

Fair value disclosures are made separately for each class of fi nancial instru-
ments at the end of the reporting period.

Derecognition
Investments are derecognised when the rights to receive cash fl ows from 
the investments have expired or have been transferred, and the Group has 
transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership.

Available-for-sale fi nancial assets
Available-for-sale fi nancial assets consist of equity investments and 
market able securities and are included in Other non-current assets unless 
Management intends to dispose of the investment within 12 months of the 
end of the reporting period. If that would be the case, the current part is 
included as Other current assets.

Unrealised gains and losses arising from changes in the fair value of fi nan-
cial assets classifi ed as available-for-sale are recognised in Other compre-
hensive income. When fi nancial assets classifi ed as available-for-sale are 
sold or impaired, the accumulated fair value adjustments are included in the 
Income statement.

The fair values of quoted investments (including bonds) are based on cur-
rent bid prices at the end of the reporting period. Financial assets for which 
no active market exists are carried at cost if no reliable valuation model can 
be applied (such as unlisted shares). 

Loans and receivables
Loans and receivables are non-derivative fi nancial assets with fi xed or deter-
minable payments that are not quoted in an active market. If collection is 
expected within one year (or in the normal operating cycle of the business 
if longer), they are classifi ed as Current assets. If not, they are presented as 
Non-current assets.

Trade receivables and Other current assets are recognised initially at fair 
value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method, less provision for allowances. Provision for allowances of 
trade receivables is made when there is objective evidence that the Group 
will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms 
of the receivables.

The provision for allowances is deducted from the carrying amount of 
Trade receivables and the amount of the loss is recognised in the Income 
statement under Sales and distribution costs. When a trade receivable 
is uncollectible, it is written off against the allowance account for trade 
 receivables. Subsequent recoveries of amounts previously written off are 
credited against Sales and distribution costs in the Income statement.

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Financial assets at fair value (derivatives)
The Group uses forward exchange contracts, currency options, interest rate 
swaps and cross-currency swaps to hedge forecast transactions, assets and 
liabilities, and net foreign currency investments in foreign subsidiaries in 
accordance with the specifi c rules of IAS 39 ‘Financial Instruments: Recogni-
tion and Measurement’. 

Upon initiation of the contract, the Group designates each derivative fi nan-
cial contract that qualifi es for hedge accounting as:

•  Hedges of the fair value of a recognised asset or liability or a fi rm commit-

ment (fair value hedge), or

•  Hedges of the fair value of a forecast fi nancial transaction (cash fl ow 

hedge), or 

•  Hedges of a net investment in a foreign operation (net investment 

hedge).

All contracts are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently re-
measured at their fair values based on current bid prices at the end of the 
reporting period. 

Forward exchange contracts and currency swap hedges recognised as 
assets or liabilities in foreign currencies are measured at fair value at the end 
of the reporting period. Value adjustments are recognised in the Income 
statement along with any value adjustments of the hedged asset or liability 
that is attributable to the hedged risk. 

The value adjustments on forward exchange contracts and interest rate 
swaps designated as hedges of forecast transactions are recognised directly 
in Other comprehensive income, given hedge effectiveness. The cumulative 
value adjustment of these contracts is transferred from Other compre-
hensive income to the Income statement as a reclassifi cation adjustment 
under Financial income or Financial expenses when the hedged transaction 
is recognised in the Income statement. 

Currency swaps used to hedge net investments in subsidiaries are measured 
at fair value based on the difference between the swap exchange rate and 
the exchange rate at the end of the reporting period. The value adjustment 
is recognised in Other comprehensive income.

Furthermore, the Group uses currency option hedges of forecast trans-
actions. Currency options are initially recognised at cost, which equals fair 
value of considerations paid, and subsequently re-measured at their fair 
values at the end of the reporting period. The cumulative value adjustment 
of the currency options for which hedge accounting is applied is transferred 
from Other comprehensive income to the Income statement as a reclas-
sifi cation adjustment under Financial income or Financial expenses when 
the hedged transaction is recognised in the Income statement. Gains and 
losses on currency options that do not meet the detailed requirements for 
allowing hedge accounting are recognised directly in the Income statement 
under Financial income or Financial expenses.

The accumulated net fair value of derivatives is presented as Marketable 
 securities and fi nancial instruments if positive or Current debt and fi nancial 
instruments if negative.

The fair value of fi nancial assets and liabilities is measured on the basis of 
quoted market prices of fi nancial instruments traded in active markets. 
If an active market exists, fair value is based on the most recently observed 
market price at the end of the reporting period.

If a fi nancial instrument is quoted in a market that is not active, the Group 
bases its valuation on the most recent transaction price. Adjustment is 
made for subsequent changes in market conditions, for instance by includ-
ing transactions in similar fi nancial instruments that are assumed to be 
motivated by normal business considerations.

If an active market does not exist, the fair value of standard and simple 
fi nancial instruments, such as interest rate swaps, currency swaps and 
un listed bonds, is measured according to generally accepted valuation 
 techniques. Market-based parameters are used to measure fair value.

When a hedging instrument expires or is sold, or when a hedge no longer 
meets the criteria for hedge accounting, any cumulative gain or loss existing 
in equity at that time remains in equity and is recognised when the forecast 
transaction is ultimately recognised in the Income statement. When a 
forecast transaction is no longer expected to occur, the cumulative gain or 
loss that was reported in equity is immediately transferred to the Income 
statement under Financial income or Financial expenses.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     65

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Share-based compensation
The Group operates equity-settled, share-based compensation plans. The 
fair value of the employee services received in exchange for the grant 
of the options or shares is recognised as an expense and allocated over the 
vesting period.

The total amount to be expensed over the vesting period is determined by 
reference to the fair value of the options or shares granted, excluding the 
impact of any non-market vesting conditions. The fair value is fi xed at grant 
date. Non-market vesting conditions are included in assumptions about the 
number of options or shares that are expected to vest. At the end of each 
reporting period, the Group revises its estimates of the number of options 
or shares that are expected to vest. Novo Nordisk recognises the impact 
of the revision of the original estimates, if any, in the Income statement 
and a corresponding adjustment to Equity (change in proceeds) over the 
remaining vesting period. Adjustments relating to prior years are included 
in the Income statement in the year of adjustment. 

Liabilities
Generally, liabilities are stated at amortised cost unless specifi ed otherwise.

Borrowings are recognised initially at fair value, net of transaction costs 
incurred. Borrowings are subsequently stated at amortised cost; any dif-
ference between the proceeds (net of transaction costs) and the redemp-
tion value is recognised in the Income statement over the period of the 
bor rowings using the effective interest method. Borrowings are classifi ed as 
Current debt unless the Group has an unconditional right to defer settle-
ment of the liability for at least 12 months after the end of the reporting 
period.

Provisions 
Provisions, including legal cases, are recognised where a legal or con-
structive obligation has incurred as a result of past events and it is probable 
that there will be an outfl ow of resources that can be reliably  estimated. In 
this case, Novo Nordisk arrives at an estimate on the basis of an evaluation 
of the most likely outcome. Cases for which no reliable estimate can be 
made are disclosed as contingent liabilities.

Provisions are measured at the present value of the anticipated expenditure 
for settlement of the legal or constructive obligation using a pre-tax rate 
that refl ects current market assessments of the time value of money and 
the risks specifi c to the obligation. The increase in the provision due to the 
passage of time is recognised as interest expense.

Treasury shares
Treasury shares are deducted from the share capital at their nominal value 
of DKK 1 per share. Differences between this amount and the amount paid 
for acquiring, or received for disposing of, treasury shares are deducted 
from retained earnings. 

Statement of cash fl ows 
The statement of cash fl ows and fi nancial resources is presented in accord-
ance with the indirect method commencing with net profi t for the year. 
Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and marketable securities, with 
original maturity of less than three months offset by short-term bank loans. 
Financial resources consist of cash and cash equivalents, bonds with original 
term to maturity exceeding three months, and undrawn committed credit 
facilities expiring after more than one year.

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Inventories 
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost 
is determined using the fi rst-in, fi rst-out method. Cost comprises direct 
pro  duction costs such as raw materials, consumables and labour as well as 
production overheads such as employee wages, depreciation, maintenance 
etc. The production overheads are measured based on a standard cost 
method, which is reviewed regularly to ensure relevant measures of utilisa-
tion, production lead time etc. 

If the expected sales price less completion costs and costs to execute sales 
(net realisable value) is lower than the carrying amount, a write-down is 
recognised for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds its net 
realisable value.

Inventory manufactured prior to regulatory approval is capitalised as an 
asset but provided for until there is a high probability of regulatory approval 
of the product. Before that point a provision is made against the carrying 
value to its recoverable amount and recorded as research and development 
costs. At the point when a high probability of regulatory approval is deter-
mined, the provision recorded is reversed, up to the original cost.

Tax
The tax expense for the period comprises current and deferred tax including 
adjustments to previous years. Tax is recognised in the Income statement, 
except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in Other compre-
hensive income.

Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the ac-
counting and taxable values of the individual consolidated companies and 
from realisable tax-loss carry-forwards using the liability method. The tax 
value of tax-loss carry-forwards is included in deferred tax assets to the 
extent that the tax losses and other tax assets are expected to be utilised 
in future taxable income. The deferred income taxes are measured 
 according to current tax rules and at the tax rates expected to be in force on 
the elimination of the temporary differences. 

Unremitted earnings are retained by subsidiaries for reinvestment. No 
 provision is made for income taxes that would be payable upon the distri-
bution of such earnings.

Employee benefi ts
Wages, salaries, social security contributions, annual leave and sick leave, 
bonuses and non-monetary benefi ts are recognised in the year in which 
the associated services are rendered by employees of the Group. Where 
the Group provides long-term employee benefi ts, the costs are accrued to 
match the rendering of the services by the employees concerned.

Pensions
The Group operates a number of defi ned contribution plans throughout 
the world. In a few countries, the Group still operates defi ned benefi t plans. 
The costs for the year for defi ned benefi t plans are determined using the 
projected unit credit method. This refl ects services rendered by employees 
to the dates of valuation and is based on actuarial assumptions primarily 
regarding discount rates used in determining the present value of benefi ts, 
projected rates of remuneration growth and long-term expected rates 
of return for plan assets. Discount rates are based on the market yields of 
high-rated corporate bonds in the country concerned. 

Actuarial gains and losses are recognised as income or expenses when the 
net cumulative unrecognised actuarial gains and losses for each individual 
plan at the end of the previous reporting period exceed 10% of the 
higher of the defi ned benefi t obligation and the fair value of plan assets at 
that date. These gains or losses are recognised over the expected average 
 remaining working lives of the employees participating in the plans. 

Past service costs are allocated over the average period until the benefi ts 
vest. 

Pension assets are only recognised to the extent that the Group is able to 
derive future economic benefi ts such as refunds from the plan or reductions 
of future contributions.

The Group’s contributions to the defi ned contribution plans are charged to 
the Income statement in the year to which they relate.

66     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
2   Segment information

Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal 
reporting provided to Executive Management and the Board of Directors.

Business segments

The Group operates in two business segments based on different therapies: 
Diabetes care and Biopharmaceuticals.

The Diabetes care business segment includes research, development, 
 manufacturing and marketing of products within the areas of insulin, GLP-1 
and related delivery systems, and oral antidiabetic products (OAD).

The Biopharmaceuticals business segment includes research, development, 
manufacturing and marketing of products within the areas of haemophilia, 
growth hormone therapy, hormone replacement therapy, infl ammation 
therapy and other therapy areas.

No operating segments have been aggregated to form the above reportable 
business segments.

Management monitors the operating results of its business segments 
separately for the purpose of making decisions about resource allocation 
and performance assessment. Segment performance is evaluated on the 
basis of operating profi t consistent with the Consolidated fi nancial state-
ments. Group fi nancing (including fi nancial expenses and fi nancial income) 
and income taxes are managed on a Group basis and are not allocated to 
business segments.

There are no sales or other transactions between the business segments. 
Costs have been split between business segments according to a specifi c 
allocation with the addition of a minor number of corporate overheads 
allocated systematically between the segments. Licence fees and other 
operating income has been allocated to the two segments based on the 
same principle. Segment assets comprise the assets that are applied directly 
to the activities of the segment, including intangible assets, property, plant 
and equipment, non-current fi nancial assets, inventories, trade receivables 
and other receivables.

No single customer represents more than 10% of the total sales.

Business segments

DKK million 

Segment sales 

NovoRapid® / NovoLog® 
NovoMix® / NovoLog®Mix 
Levemir® 
Total modern insulin 
Human insulin 
Victoza® 
Protein-related products 
Oral antidiabetic products (OAD) 

2010 

2009 

2008 

2010 

2009 

2008 

2010 

2009 

2008

Diabetes care 

Biopharmaceuticals 

Total

11,900 
7,821 
6,880 
26,601 
11,827 
2,317 
2,214 
2,751 

9,749 
6,499 
5,223 
21,471 
11,315 
87 
1,977 
2,652 

7,830 
5,637 
3,850 
17,317 
11,804 
– 
1,844 
2,391 

Diabetes care total sales 

45,710 

37,502 

33,356 

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NovoSeven® 
Norditropin® 
Hormone replacement therapy 
Other products 

Biopharmaceuticals total sales  

Total business segments – 
other key fi gures
Total sales 
    Change in DKK (%) 
    Change in local currencies (%) 
Cost of goods sold 
Sales and distribution costs 
Research and development costs 
Administrative expenses 
Licence fees and other operating 
income, net 
Operating profi t  
Depreciation, amortisation and 
impairment losses included in the costs 
Assets allocated to business segments 
Assets not allocated to business 
segments 1) 
Total assets 

8,030 
4,803 
1,892 
341 

7,072 
4,401 
1,744 
359 

6,396 
3,865 
1,612 
324 

15,066 

13,576 

12,197 

45,710 
21.9% 
15.7% 
10,131 
14,815 
6,744 
2,260 

342 
12,102 

1,887 
34,947 

37,502 
12.4% 
11.1% 
9,001 
12,877 
5,257 
2,044 

187 
8,510 

33,356 
9.4% 
12.7% 
8,705 
10,497 
4,791 
1,936 

142 
7,569 

1,973 
29,703 

1,899 
30,468 

15,066 
11.0% 
5.4% 
1,549 
3,380 
2,858 
805 

315 
6,789 

580 
7,906 

13,576 
11.3% 
9.3% 
1,437 
2,543 
2,607 
720 

154 
6,423 

578 
8,984 

12,197 
7.4% 
11.1% 
1,404 
2,369 
3,065 
699 

144 
4,804 

543 
6,640 

60,776 
19.0% 
13.0% 
11,680 
18,195 
9,602 
3,065 

657 
18,891 

2,467 
42,853 

18,549 
61,402 

51,078 
12.1% 
10.6% 
10,438 
15,420 
7,864 
2,764 

341 
14,933 

2,551 
38,687 

16,055 
54,742 

45,553
8.9%
12.2%
10,109
12,866
7,856
2,635

286
12,373

2,442
37,108

13,495
50,603

1)  The part of total assets that has not been allocated to either of the two business segments includes Cash at bank and in hand, Marketable securities, Derivative fi nancial instruments 

and tax assets etc.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     67

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2   Segment information (continued)

Geographical segments

The Group operates in four geographical regions:

•  North America: the US and Canada
•  Europe: the EU, EFTA, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, 

Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo
•  Japan & Korea: Japan and Korea
•  International Operations: all other countries, currently including China.

Sales are attributed to geographical regions according to the location of 
the customer. Allocation of property, plant and equipment and total assets 
are based on the location of the assets.

The country of domicile is Denmark, which is part of Region Europe. 
Denmark is immaterial in relation to the Group’s activities in terms of geo-
graphical size and the operational business segments. Less than 1% of the 
total sales is realised in Denmark. Sales to external customers attributed 
to the US are collectively the most material to the company. The US is the 
only country where sales contribute more than 10% of our total sales. 
However, sales to the US represent more than 90% of sales in region North 
America.

Effective 1 January 2011, China will be reported as a separate geographical 
region. Currently, China is reported as a part of International Operations. 
The change does not impact the segment reporting in the Annual Report 
2010.

Geographical segments

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008 

2010 

2009 

2008

North America 

Sales 
    Change in DKK (%) 
    Change in local currencies (%) 
Property, plant and equipment 
Total assets 

23,609 
29.2% 
22.4% 
987 
3,680 

18,279 
20.6% 
15.2% 
905 
3,232 

15,154 
10.2% 
17.7% 
973 
3,532 

18,664 
6.4% 
4.6% 
15,669 
46,654 

Europe

17,540 
1.9% 
5.2% 
15,445 
42,933 

17,219
5.3%
6.7%
15,624
40,849

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008 

2010 

2009 

2008

International Operations 2) 

Japan & Korea 2)

Sales 
    Change in DKK (%) 
    Change in local currencies (%) 
Property, plant and equipment 
Total assets 

12,843 
23.8% 
15.1% 
3,638 
9,910 

10,371 
15.4% 
17.3% 
2,688 
7,574 

8,984 
14.5% 
18.9% 
1,828 
5,292 

5,660 
15.8% 
3.3% 
213 
1,158 

4,888 
16.5% 
1.8% 
188 
1,003 

4,196
7.9%
1.8%
214
930

DKK million 

Sales 
    Change in DKK (%) 
    Change in local currencies (%) 
Property, plant and equipment 
Total assets 

2010 

2009 

2008

Total

51,078 
12.1% 
10.6% 
19,226 
54,742 

60,776 
19.0% 
13.0% 
20,507 
61,402 

45,553
8.9%
12.2%
18,639
50,603

2)  As at 1 January 2010, Korea joined Japan to form Region Japan & Korea, while Australia and New Zealand became part of 

Region International Operations. The historical fi gures for 2009 and 2008 have been restated and are comparable to the 2010 regional 
set-up.

68     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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3   Gross-to-net sales reconciliation

5   Fee to statutory auditors

DKK million 

Gross sales 

US Medicaid and Medicare rebates 
US managed healthcare rebates 
US wholesaler charge-backs 
Non-US healthcare plans and 
programme rebates 
Sales returns and discounts 

2010 

2009 

2008

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

75,811 

62,459 

54,532

(4,124) 
(2,494) 
(4,994) 

(2,447) 
(2,121) 
(3,720) 

(1,672)
(1,543)
(2,949)

(543) 
(2,880) 

(431) 
(2,662) 

(350)
(2,465)

Statutory audit  
Audit-related services 
Tax advisory services 
Other services 

Total fee to statutory auditors 

25 
6 
15 
4 

50 

25 
6 
13 
3 

47 

25
4
16
1

46

Total gross-to-net sales adjustments 

(15,035) 

(11,381) 

(8,979)

6   Depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses

Total net sales 

60,776 

51,078 

45,553

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

4   Employee costs

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Included in the Income statement:
Cost of goods sold 
Sales and distribution costs 
Research and development costs  
Administrative expenses 

1,832 
60 
460 
115 

1,851 
43 
528 
129 

1,831
38
473
100

14,520 

13,231 

11,959

Total depreciation, amortisation and 
impairment losses 

2,467 

2,551 

2,442

Wages and salaries 
Share-based payment costs 
(refer to note 28) 
Pensions – defi ned contribution plans 
Pensions – retirement benefi t 
obligations (refer to note 21) 
Other contributions to social security 
Other employee costs 

463 
1,052 

210 
1,067 
1,510 

259 
958 

152 
898 
1,332 

331
871

128
756
1,240

Total employee costs for the year 

18,822 

16,830 

15,285

Change in employee costs included 
in assets under construction 
Change in employee costs included 
in inventories 

Total employee costs expensed 
in the Income statement 

(559) 

(485) 

(449)

76 

(21) 

(146)

18,339 

16,324 

14,690

Included in the Income statement:
Cost of goods sold 
Sales and distribution costs 
Research and development costs 
Administrative expenses 
Licence fees and other operating income 

4,006 
7,240 
3,697 
2,059 
1,337 

3,952 
6,063 
3,218 
1,811 
1,280 

3,676
5,083
3,040
1,654
1,237

Total included in the Income statement 

18,339 

16,324 

14,690

Employee costs related to NNE Pharmaplan and NNIT are included in the 
schedule of total employee costs, whereas in previous years they were 
stated outside the schedule. Comparatives for 2009 and 2008 have been 
included in the schedule accordingly.

Average number of full-time equivalents 
Year-end number of full-time equivalents 

29,423 
30,014 

27,985 
28,809 

26,069
26,575

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Remuneration to Executive 
Management amounts to:
Salary 
Pension 
Other benefi ts 

Total 

32 
8 
1 

41 

30 
8 
1 

39 

31
7
2

40

Share-based payments are allocated in the joint pool with other members 
of the Senior Management Board. Please refer to the ‘Remuneration report’ 
in the section Corporate governance, remuneration and leadership, 
pp 46 – 49, for further information on remuneration to the Board of 
 Directors and Executive Management.

7   Financial income

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Interest income  
Foreign exchange gain (net) 
Foreign exchange gain on 
derivatives (net) 
Gains on currency options (net) 
Foreign exchange gain on 
derivatives transferred from Other 
comprehensive income (net) 

235 
86 

61 
– 

– 

313 
62 

– 
– 

– 

631
–

105
34

357

Total fi nancial income 

382 

375 

1,127

8   Financial expenses

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Interest expenses 1) 
Foreign exchange loss (net) 
Foreign exchange loss on 
derivatives (net) 
Loss on currency options (net) 
Capital loss on investments etc  
Other fi nancial expenses 
Foreign exchange loss on 
derivatives transferred from Other 
comprehensive income (net) 

500 
– 

– 
82 
23 
46 

384 
– 

95 
56 
16 
52 

1,406 

662 

Total fi nancial expenses 

2,057 

1,265 

246
355

–
–
28
52

–

681

1) Interest expenses include interest on tax cases ongoing or settled during the year.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     69

 
 
 
 
 
 
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9   Taxes

DKK million 

Current tax on profi t for the year 
Deferred tax on profi t for the year (refer to note 20) 

Tax on profi t for the year 
Adjustments related to previous years – current tax 
Adjustments related to previous years – deferred tax 

Income taxes in the Income statement  

Computation of effective tax rate:
Statutory corporate income tax rate in Denmark 
Deviation in foreign subsidiaries’ tax rates compared to the Danish tax rate (net) 
Non-tax income less non-tax-deductible expenses (net) 
Other 

Effective tax rate 

2010 

2009 

3,477 
495 

3,972 
504 
(593) 

2,382 
840 

3,222 
(54) 
52 

3,883 

3,220 

2008

2,233
851

3,084
(218)
184

3,050

25.0% 
(2.5%) 
(1.2%) 
(0.1%) 

25.0% 
(2.2%) 
0.2% 
0.0% 

25.0%
(0.3%)
(0.4%)
(0.3%)

21.2% 

23.0% 

24.0%

Tax on Other comprehensive income for the year, (income)/expense (refer to note 20) 

(346) 

25 

(81)

Tax on Other comprehensive income for the year relates to tax on deferred (gains)/losses on cash fl ow hedges etc.

10   Earnings per share and dividend

DKK million 

Net profi t for the year 

2010 

2009 

2008

14,403 

10,768 

9,645

Average number of shares outstanding 
Dilutive effect of outstanding share bonus pool and options ‘in the money’ 1) 

in 1,000 shares 
in 1,000 shares 

580,438 
5,039 

599,197 
5,126 

615,780
4,947

Average number of shares outstanding including dilutive effect of options ‘in the money’ 

in 1,000 shares 

585,477 

604,323 

620,727

Basic earnings per share 1) 
Diluted earnings per share 1) 

DKK 
DKK 

24.81 
24.60 

17.97 
17.82 

15.66
15.54

1)  For further information on outstanding share bonus pool and options, refer to notes 28 and 29.

Dividend
At the end of 2010, proposed dividends (not yet declared) of DKK 5,700 million (DKK 10.00 per share) are included in Retained earnings.
The declared dividend included in Retained earnings was DKK 4,400 million (DKK 7.50 per share) and DKK 3,650 million (DKK 6.00 per share) in 2009 and 
2008 respectively. No dividend is declared on treasury shares.

70     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11   Intangible assets

DKK million 

2010
Cost at the beginning of the year 
Additions during the year 
Disposals during the year 
Effect of currency translation 

Cost at the end of the year 

Amortisation and impairment losses at the beginning of the year 
Amortisation for the year 
Amortisation and impairment losses reversed on disposals during the year 
Effect of currency translation 

Amortisation and impairment losses at the end of the year 

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

2009
Cost at the beginning of the year 
Additions during the year 
Disposals during the year 
Effect of currency translation 

Cost at the end of the year 

Amortisation and impairment losses at the beginning of the year 
Amortisation for the year 
Impairment losses for the year  
Amortisation and impairment losses reversed on disposals during the year 
Effect of currency translation 

Amortisation and impairment losses at the end of the year 

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

1)  Includes primarily internally developed software and costs related to major IT projects.

Goodwill 

Patents and 
licences etc 

Other  
intangible 
assets 1) 

928 
148 
(2) 
16 

727 
339 
(40) 
26 

1,090 

1,052 

139 
– 
(4) 
– 

135 

65 
– 
– 
– 

65 

70 

136 
3 
– 
– 

139 

65 
– 
– 
– 
– 

65 

74 

283 
31 
(1) 
7 

320 

770 

700 
277 
(49) 
– 

928 

219 
21 
92 
(49) 
– 

283 

645 

Total

1,794
487
(46)
42

2,277

757
80
(41)
23

819

409 
49 
(40) 
16 

434 

618 

1,458

609 
113 
(6) 
11 

727 

373 
40 
– 
(6) 
2 

409 

1,445
393
(55)
11

1,794

657
61
92
(55)
2

757

318 

1,037

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Impairment tests in 2010 and 2009 were based upon Management’s projections and anticipated net present value of future cash fl ows from cash-
generating units. Management has used a discount rate (WACC) pre tax of 9% based on the risk inherent in the related activity’s current business model 
and industry comparisons. Terminal values used are based on the expected life of products, forecast life cycle and forecast cash fl ow over that period 
and the useful life of the underlying assets. No material impairment losses have been recognised during 2010 and 2009.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     71

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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12   Property, plant and equipment

DKK million 

2010
Cost at the beginning of the year 
Additions during the year 
Disposals during the year 
Transfer from/(to) other items 
Effect of currency translation 

Cost at the end of the year 

Land and 
buildings 

Plant and 
machinery 

Other 
equipment 

Total

Payments on 
account and 
assets in 
course of 
construction 

12,855 
142 
(35) 
372 
264 

16,709 
394 
(830) 
727 
243 

2,740 
146 
(156) 
76 
55 

2,907 
2,694 
– 
(1,175) 
90 

35,211
3,376
(1,021)
–
652

13,598 

17,243 

2,861 

4,516 

38,218

Depreciation and impairment losses at the beginning of the year 
Depreciation for the year 
Impairment losses for the year 
Depreciation and impairment losses reversed on disposals during the year 
Effect of currency translation 

4,387 
581 
37 
(29) 
72 

9,913 
1,453 
30 
(708) 
118 

1,685 
285 
1 
(145) 
31 

Depreciation and impairment losses at the end of the year 

5,048 

10,806 

1,857 

– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

15,985
2,319
68
(882)
221

17,711

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

8,550 

6,437 

1,004 

4,516 

20,507

2009
Cost at the beginning of the year 
Additions during the year 
Disposals during the year 
Transfer from/(to) other items 
Effect of currency translation 

Cost at the end of the year 

12,280 
232 
(81) 
190 
234 

15,699 
259 
(129) 
615 
265 

2,620 
179 
(118) 
54 
5 

1,789 
1,962 
– 
(859) 
15 

32,388
2,632
(328)
–
519

12,855 

16,709 

2,740 

2,907 

35,211

Depreciation and impairment losses at the beginning of the year 
Depreciation for the year 
Impairment losses for the year 
Depreciation and impairment losses reversed on disposals during the year 
Effect of currency translation 

3,792 
528 
100 
(73) 
40 

8,471 
1,418 
52 
(105) 
77 

1,486 
297 
3 
(101) 
– 

Depreciation and impairment losses at the end of the year 

4,387 

9,913 

1,685 

– 
– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

13,749
2,243
155
(279)
117

15,985

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

8,468 

6,796 

1,055 

2,907 

19,226

13   Investments in associated companies

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Carrying amount at the beginning of the year 
Investments during the year 
Transfers to Other non-current fi nancial assets 
Divestments during the year 
Share of profi t/(loss) recognised in the Income statement 
Impairments 
Dividend received 
Other equity movements 

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

Share of profi t/(loss) 
Impairments 
Gain from divestment of shares in ZymoGenetics, Inc. 
Transfer of share of Other comprehensive income of ZymoGenetics, Inc. 
Currency translation 

Total share of profi t/(loss) of associated companies, net of tax 

176 
38 
(68) 
(70) 
38 
(63) 
(8) 
– 

43 

38 
(63) 
1,056 
36 
3 

1,070 

222 
15 
– 
– 
(55) 
– 
(18) 
12 

176 

(55) 
– 
– 
– 
– 

(55) 

500
–
–
(18)
(124)
–
(170)
34

222

(124)
–
–
–
–

(124)

In 2010, Novo Nordisk sold its 22,143,320 shares in ZymoGenetics, Inc. at a price of USD 9.75 per share. The sale resulted in a non-recurring income of 
DKK 1,092 million. The income from the transaction is exempt from tax charges under applicable Danish tax laws. Also during 2010, Novo Nordisk 
transferred Innate Pharma SA to Other non-current fi nancial assets as Novo Nordisk no longer holds signifi cant infl uence. Carrying amount of investments 
at the end of the year of DKK 43 million relates to Harno Invest A/S (formerly Dako A/S) only. Public accounting information for 2010 are not yet available. 
In 2009, the associated companies realised DKK 170 million in sales and generated a net loss of DKK 598 million. At 31 December 2009, total assets 
amounted to DKK 2,168 million, whereas total liabilities amounted to DKK 1,772 million.

72     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14   Financial assets and liabilities

DKK million 

Assets at the end of the year

2010
Available-for-sale fi nancial assets
– Other non-current fi nancial assets (equity investments) 
– Marketable securities (bonds) 1) 
Financial assets measured at fair value through the Income statement
– Derivative fi nancial instruments (refer to note 30) 
Loans and receivables
– Other non-current fi nancial assets  
– Trade receivables (refer to note 16) 
– Other current assets less prepayments (refer to note 17) 
– Cash at bank and in hand 

Equity 
investments 

Maturity 
< 1 year 

Maturity 
> 1 year 
< 5 years 

Maturity  
> 5 years 

Total

216 

3,174 

108 

8,500 
1,786 
12,017 

752 

38 

216
3,926

108

38
8,500
1,786
12,017

Total 

216 

25,585 

752 

38 

26,591

2009
Available-for-sale fi nancial assets
– Other non-current fi nancial assets (equity investments) 
– Marketable securities (bonds) 1) 
Financial assets measured at fair value through the Income statement
– Derivative fi nancial instruments (refer to note 30) 
Financial assets measured at fair value through Other comprehensive income
– Derivative fi nancial instruments (refer to note 30) 
Loans and receivables
– Other non-current fi nancial assets 
– Trade receivables (refer to note 16) 
– Other current assets less prepayments (refer to note 17) 
– Cash at bank and in hand 

145 

500 

44 

506 

7,063 
1,271 
11,296 

513 

55 

(88) 

37 

145
1,013

99

418

37
7,063
1,271
11,296

Total 

145 

20,680 

480 

37 

21,342

1)  Danish AAA-rated mortgage bonds issued by Danish credit institutions governed by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority. Redemption yield on the bond portfolio is 1.05% 
(1.79% in 2009). Nominal EUR 9 million (DKK 69 million) of Greek zero-coupon state bonds related to the settlement in 2010 of overdue hospital accounts receivables is included.

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n
a
n
fi 
d
e
t
a
d

i
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o
s
n
o
C
–

s
e
t
o
N

DKK million 

Liabilities at the end of the year

2010
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
– Non-current debt (refer to note 19) 
– Current debt (refer to note 23) 
– Trade payables 
– Other current liabilities less taxes and duties payable (refer to note 24) 
Financial liabilities measured at fair value through the Income statement
– Derivative fi nancial instruments (refer to note 30) 
Financial liabilities measured at fair value through Other comprehensive income
– Derivative fi nancial instruments (refer to note 30) 

Total 

2009
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
– Non-current debt (refer to note 19) 
– Current debt (refer to note 23) 
– Trade payables 
– Other current liabilities less taxes and duties payable (refer to note 24) 
Financial liabilities measured at fair value through the Income statement
– Derivative fi nancial instruments (refer to note 30) 
Financial liabilities measured at fair value through Other comprehensive income
– Derivative fi nancial instruments (refer to note 30) 

Total 

Maturity 
< 1 year 

Maturity 
> 1 year 
< 5 years 

Maturity  
> 5 years 

Total

145 

359 

359 

12,766

563 

407 

504
562
2,906
7,636

446

712

970
263
2,242
6,551

122

33

562 
2,906 
7,636 

438 

582 

12,124 

263 
2,242 
6,551 

56 

15 

9,127 

8 

130 

283 

66 

18 

647 

407 

10,181

For a description of the credit quality of fi nancial assets such as Trade receivables, Cash at bank and in hand and Current debt and Derivative fi nancial 
instruments, refer to notes 27 and 30.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     73

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14   Financial assets and liabilities (continued)

Financial assets and liabilities that are measured in the Balance sheet at fair value can be categorised by the following fair value measurement hierarchy:

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DKK million 

2010
Available-for-sale fi nancial assets
Other non-current fi nancial assets (equity investments) 
Marketable securities (bonds) 

Financial assets at fair value through the Income statement
Derivative fi nancial instruments 

Total assets 

Financial liabilities at fair value through the Income statement
Derivative fi nancial instruments 

Total liabilities 

2009
Available-for-sale fi nancial assets
Other non-current fi nancial assets (equity investments) 
Marketable securities (bonds) 

Financial assets at fair value through the Income statement
Derivative fi nancial instruments 

Total assets 

Financial liabilities at fair value through the Income statement
Derivative fi nancial instruments 

Total liabilities 

Active 
market 
data 1) 

Directly or 
indirectly 
observable 
market 
data 2) 

Not based on 
observable 
market 
data 3) 

Total

216
3,926

108

159 

159 

4,250

– 

137 

1,158

1,158

145
1,013

517

137 

1,675

155

155

– 

57 
3,926 

3,983 

– 

8 
1,013 

1,021 

– 

108 

108 

1,158 

1,158 

517 

517 

155 

155 

1)  The fair value of fi nancial instruments traded in active markets is based on quoted market prices at the balance sheet date. The quoted market price used for fi nancial assets 

held by the Group is the current bid price.

2)  The fair value of fi nancial instruments that are not traded in an active market (ie over-the-counter derivatives) is determined using valuation techniques.
3)  If there are no observable market data available (ie unlisted equity investments), the instrument is included in the latter category.

The following table presents the changes in the category ‘Not based on observable market data’ for the year ended 31 December 4).

DKK million 

Other non-current fi nancial assets (equity investments)
Balance at the beginning of the year 
Total gains/(losses) recognised in the Income statement, fi nancial income/expenses 
Purchases 

Balance at the end of the year 

2010 

2009

137 
(12) 
34 

159 

153
(33)
17

137

4)  There were no transfers between the categories ‘Active market data’ and ‘Directly or indirectly observable market data’ during 2010 or 2009.

74     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15   Inventories

DKK million 

Raw materials 
Work in progress 
Finished goods 

Total inventories (gross) 

Inventory write-downs at year-end 

Total inventories 

1,378 
6,344 
3,268 

1,290
7,254
2,196

10,990 

10,740

1,301 

724

9,689 

10,016

Indirect production costs included in work 
in progress and fi nished goods 

5,090 

5,046

The movements in the inventory write-downs 
can be specifi ed as follows:
Inventory write-downs at the beginning of the year 
Utilisation of inventory write-downs 
Reversal of inventory write-downs 
Inventory write-downs net for the year 

724 
(139) 
(116) 
832 

1,038
(513)
(115)
314

Inventory write-downs at the end of the year  

1,301 

724

16   Trade receivables

DKK million 

Trade receivables (gross) 
Allowances at the end of the year  

Trade receivables (net) 

Trade receivables (net) are equal to an average 
credit period of 51 days (50 days in 2009).

Trade receivables can be specifi ed as follows:
Non-impaired trade receivables
– Not yet due 
– Overdue by between 1 and 179 days 
– Overdue by between 180 and 359 days 
– Overdue by more than 360 days 

Total exposure to credit risk 

Trade receivables allowances 

Trade receivables (gross) 

Allowances for doubtful receivables can be 
specifi ed as follows:
Carrying amount at the beginning of the year 
Confi rmed losses 
Reversal of allowances for possible losses 
Allowances for possible losses for the year 
Effect of currency translation 

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

2010 

2009

9,127 
627 

7,663
600

8,500 

7,063

7,425 
727 
128 
220 

5,801
678
452
132

8,500 

7,063

627 

600

9,127 

7,663

600 
(14) 
(141) 
164 
18 

627 

602
(20)
(32)
74
(24)

600

17   Other current assets

2010 

2009

DKK million 

2010 

2009

Prepayments 1) 
Interest receivable 
Amounts owed by affi liated companies 
Rent deposit 
VAT receivable 
Other receivables 2) 

617 
97 
111 
455 
474 
649 

691
83
118
344
125
601

Total other current assets 

2,403 

1,962

1)  Comprises prepayments to ongoing research and development activities and 

payments made concerning subsequent fi nancial years etc.

2)  Other receivables comprise miscellaneous duties and work in progress for third 

parties etc.

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Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     75

 
 
 
 
 
 
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18   Share capital

DKK million 

Development in share capital:
2006 and before 
2007 
2008 
2009 

At the beginning of the year 

2010 

At the end of the year 

A share 
capital 

B share 
capital 

Total share
capital

107 
– 
– 
– 

107 

– 

107 

567 
(27) 
(13) 
(14) 

513 

(20) 

493 

674
(27)
(13)
(14)

620

(20)

600

At the end of 2010, the share capital amounted to DKK 107,487,200 in A share capital (equal to 107,487,200 A shares of DKK 1) and DKK 492,512,800 
in B share capital (equal to 492,512,800 B shares of DKK 1).

Treasury shares 

Market value 
DKK million 

As % of share 
capital before 
cancellation 

As % of share 
capital after 
cancellation 

Holding at the beginning of the year 
Cancellation of treasury shares 

Holding of treasury shares, adjusted for cancellation 
Purchase during the year 
Sale during the year 
Value adjustment 

Holding at the end of the year 

5.18% 
(3.23%) 

1.95% 

10,670 
(6,640) 

4,030 
9,498 
(678) 
4,892 

17,742 

2010 

Number of 
B Shares 
of DKK 1 

2009

Number of
B Shares
of DKK 1

32,137,945 
(20,000,000) 

25,721,095
(14,000,000)

2.02% 
3.26% 
(0.58%) 

12,137,945 
19,534,528 
(3,465,718) 
– 

11,721,095
21,661,949
(1,245,099)
–

4.70% 

28,206,755 

32,137,945

Acquisition of treasury shares during the year relates to the DKK 9.5 billion share repurchase programmes for 2010 of Novo Nordisk B shares. The purpose of 
the programme was a reduction of the company’s share capital. Sale of treasury shares relates to exercised share options, employee share savings programme 
and employee shares.

At the end of the year, 6,255,365 shares of the treasury B shareholding are regarded as hedges for the share-based incentive schemes and restricted stock 
awards to employees.

19   Non-current debt

DKK million 

Mortgage debt and other secured loans 1) 
Unsecured loans and other non-current loans 

Total non-current debt 

The debt is denominated in the following currencies:
DKK 
EUR 
USD 

Total non-current debt 

2010 

2009

504 
– 

504 

2 
502 
– 

504 

503
467

970

2
501
467

970

Adjustment of the above loans to market value at year-end 2010 would result in a loss of DKK 4 million (a loss of DKK 22 million at year-end 2009).

1)  Terms to maturity between 2016 and 2022 and a weighted average interest rate of 1.34%.

76     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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20   Deferred income tax assets and liabilities

DKK million 

At the beginning of the year 
Deferred tax on profi t for the year (refer to note 9) 
Adjustment relating to previous years 
Deferred tax on items recognised in Other comprehensive income (refer to note 9) 
Effect of currency translation 

Total deferred tax assets/(liabilities), net 

2010 

2009

(1,555) 
(495) 
593 
346 
93 

(708)
(840)
(52)
(14)
59

(1,018) 

(1,555)

DKK million 

Specifi cation
The deferred tax assets and liabilities are allocated 
to the various items in the Balance sheet as follows:
Property, plant and equipment 
Intangible assets 
Indirect production costs 
Unrealised profi t on intra-Group sales  
Provisions for doubtful trade receivables 
Tax-loss carry-forward 
Other 

Assets 

Liabilities 

2010 
Total 

Assets 

Liabilities 

189 
549 
– 
2,703 
49 
113 
478 

4,081 

(1,468) 
(4) 
(1,272) 
– 
– 
– 
(2,355) 

(1,279) 
545 
(1,272) 
2,703 
49 
113 
(1,877) 

(5,099) 

(1,018) 

165 
475 
– 
2,106 
101 
44 
288 

3,179 

(1,432) 
(5) 
(1,262) 
– 
– 
– 
(2,035) 

(4,734) 

(1,555)

2009
Total

(1,267)
470
(1,262)
2,106
101
44
(1,747)

Netting of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities related to 
income taxes for which there is a legally enforceable right to offset 

(2,234) 

2,234 

0 

(1,724) 

1,724 

0

Total deferred tax assets/(liabilities), net 

1,847 

(2,865) 

(1,018) 

1,455 

(3,010) 

(1,555)

Tax losses carried forward
Further to the above, the tax value of tax losses carried forward of DKK 176 million (DKK 285 million in 2009) has not been recognised in the Balance sheet 
due to the likelihood that the tax losses will not be realised in the future.

21   Retirement benefi t obligations

Most employees in the Group are covered by post-employment retirement plans primarily in the form of defi ned contribution plans but in a few cases in the 
form of defi ned benefi t plans. Group companies sponsor these plans either directly or by contributing to independently administered funds. The nature of 
such plans varies according to the legal regulations, fi scal requirements and economic conditions of the countries in which the employees are employed, and 
the benefi ts are generally based on the employees’ remuneration and years of service. The obligations relate both to existing retirees’ pensions and to pension 
entitlements of future retirees.

The Group’s defi ned benefi t plans are primarily located in Japan, Germany, the United States and Switzerland. Post-employment benefi t plans are usually 
funded by payments from Group companies and by employees to funds independent of the Group. Where a plan is unfunded, a liability for the retirement 
obligation is recognised in the Balance sheet. In accordance with the Accounting policies, the costs recognised for post-employment benefi ts are included 
in Cost of goods sold, Sales and distribution costs, Research and development costs and Administrative expenses.

Other post-employment benefi ts consist mostly of post-retirement healthcare plans, principally in the United States. The following shows a fi ve-year summary 
refl ecting the funding of retirement obligations and the impact of historical deviations between expected and actual return on plan assets and actuarial 
adjustments on plan liabilities:

DKK million 

Retirement benefi t obligations 
Fair value of plan assets 

(Over)/under funding 
Unrecognised actuarial gains/(losses) 1) 

Net retirement benefi t obligations recognised in the Balance sheet 

2010 

2009 

2008 

2007 

2006

1,452 
(766) 

686 
(117) 

569 

1,063 
(620) 

443 
13 

456 

1,103 
(649) 

454 
(35) 

419 

885 
(566) 

319 
43 

362 

938
(495)

443
(113)

330

1)  Actuarial (gains)/losses on plan assets and plan liabilities for the year are predominantly related to actuarial adjustments while experience adjustments are immaterial.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     77

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21   Retirement benefi t obligations (continued)

DKK million 

2010 

2009

DKK million 

2010 

2009

Pension 
plans 

Medical 
benefi ts 

Total 

Total

Changes in the retirement 
benefi t obligations
At the beginning of the year 
Current service costs 
Interest cost 
Actuarial (gains)/losses 
Past service costs 
Benefi ts paid  
Curtailments 
Settlements 
Effect of currency translation 
Other 

832 
99 
35 
92 
(1) 
(29) 

96 
14 

231 
38 
15 
15 

(3) 

19 
(1) 

1,063 
137 
50 
107 
(1) 
(32) 
– 
– 
115 
13 

1,103
118
45
(29)
(4)
(53)
(2)
(104)
(3)
(8)

At the end of the year 

1,138 

314 

1,452 

1,063

Costs recognised in the Income statement 
for the year
Current service costs 
Interest cost on pension obligation 
Expected return on plan assets 1) 
Actuarial (gains)/losses 
Curtailment/settlement gains 
Past service costs 
Effect of currency translation 
Other 

Total charge to the Income statement  

1)  Actual return on plan assets was DKK 13 million in 2010 

(a loss of DKK 6 million in 2009).

The costs are recognised in the Income statement 
as employee costs by function and consist of:

Defi ned benefi t pension plans 
Post-employment medical benefi ts 

DKK million 

2010 

2009

Total charge to the Income statement  

137 
50 
(26) 
(11) 
– 
– 
53 
7 

210 

118
45
(20)
30
(20)
(1)
–
–

152

137 
73 

210 

107
45

152

Changes in the fair value of plan assets
At the beginning of the year 
Expected return on plan assets 
Actuarial gains/(losses) 
Employer contributions 
Benefi ts paid to employees 
Curtailments 
Settlements 
Effect of currency translation 
Other 

At the end of the year 

620 
26 
(13) 
84 
(19) 
– 
– 
62 
6 

766 

649
20
(14)
68
(40)
3
(67)
1
–

620

DKK million 

2010 

2009

The Group expects to contribute DKK 73 million to its defi ned benefi t 
plans in 2011 (actual DKK 84 million in 2010).

2010 

DKK 
million 

% 

DKK 
million 

522 
83 
88 
63 
10 

68% 
11% 
12% 
8% 
1% 

434 
57 
68 
59 
2 

2009

%

70%
9%
11%
10%
0%

Weighted average asset 
allocation of funded 
retirement obligations
Coverage insurance 2)  
Equities 
Bonds 
Cash at bank 
Property 

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Total 

766 

100% 

620 

100%

1,070 
(766) 

832
(620)

2)  Novo Nordisk’s defi ned benefi t payments in Germany and Switzerland are re-

imbursed by Allianz regardless of the value of the plan assets. The only risk related 
to the pension in these countries is therefore counterparty risk against Allianz.

Net retirement benefi t obligations 
recognised in the Balance sheet 
Present value of funded retirement 
benefi t obligations 
Fair value of plan assets 

Net retirement benefi t obligations funded 

Present value of unfunded retirement 
benefi t obligations 

(Over)/underfunding 

Unrecognised actuarial gains/(losses) 
on pension plans (net) 
Unrecognised actuarial gains/(losses) 
on post-employment medical benefi ts (net) 
Unrecognised past service costs 

Net retirement benefi t obligation 

304 

382 

686 

212

231

443

(144) 

(26)

24 
3 

37
2

569 

456

Amount recognised in the Balance sheet is reported as Non-current debt.

DKK million 

2010 

2009

Changes in net retirement benefi t obligations
At the beginning of the year 
Recognised in the Income statement 
Employer contributions 
Benefi t paid to employees (net) 
Settlements 
Curtailments 
Currency translation 

At the end of the year 

456 
210 
(84) 
(13) 
– 
– 
– 

569 

419
152
(68)
(13)
(37)
7
(4)

456

78     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

DKK million 

2010 

2009

The assumptions used for valuation of 
defi ned benefi t plans and post-employment 
medical benefi ts are as follows
Discount rate 
Projected return on plan assets 
Projected future remuneration increases 
Healthcare cost trend rate 
Infl ation rate 

4% 
3% 
2% 
5% 
2% 

4%
3%
3%
6%
2%

Actuarial valuations are performed annually for all major defi ned benefi t 
plans. The overall expected rate of return is determined based on low-risk 
investments in bonds in the relevant currencies.

The effect of a 1 percentage point increase or decrease in the medical cost 
trend rate is shown below. The Group’s major post-employment medical 
plans are for US employees.

DKK million 

2010 

2009

Increase 

Decrease 

Increase 

Decrease

Current service and 
interest cost  
Defi ned benefi t obligation 

3 
20 

(4) 
(22) 

2 
13 

(3)
(14)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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22   Provisions for other liabilities

DKK million 

At the beginning of the year 
Additional provisions, including increases to existing provisions 
Amount used during the year 
Adjustments, including unused amounts reversed during the year 
Effect of currency translation  

At the end of the year 

Specifi cation of other provisions:
Non-current 
Current 

Total provisions for other liabilities 

2009
Total

3,786
5,501
(4,738)
(147)
(4)

Provisions 
for product 
returns 1) 

Provisions 
for sales 
rebates 

Other 
provisions 2) 

2010 
Total 

588 
186 
(241) 
(32) 
33 

534 

319 
215 

534 

2,623 
7,197 
(5,491) 
(179) 
214 

1,187 
738 
(182) 
(10) 
36 

4,398 
8,121 
(5,914) 
(221) 
283 

4,364 

1,769 

6,667 

4,398

– 
4,364 

4,364 

1,704 
65 

1,769 

2,023 
4,644 

6,667 

1,157
3,241

4,398

1) Novo Nordisk issues credit notes for expired goods as a part of normal business. Consequently, a provision for future returns is made based on historical statistical product 

returns, which represents Management’s best estimate.

2) Other provisions consist of various types of provisions, including employee benefi ts like jubilee benefi ts and provisions for legal disputes, which represent Management’s best 

estimate. Please refer to note 31 for further information on commitments and contingencies.

23   Current debt and derivative fi nancial instruments

26   Cash and cash equivalents

DKK million 

2010 

2009

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Cash at bank and in hand 
Bank overdrafts (refer to note 23) 

12,017 
(57) 

11,296 
(262) 

8,781
(55)

Cash and cash equivalents 
at the end of the year 

11,960 

11,034 

8,726

Bank overdrafts 
Loans 
Derivative fi nancial instruments 

Total current debt and derivative 
fi nancial instruments 

24   Other current liabilities

DKK million 

Employee costs payable 
Taxes and duties payable 
Other payables 1) 

Total other current liabilities 

57 
505 
1,158 

262
–
156

1,720 

418

2010 

2009

3,042 
318 
4,594 

2,742
262
3,809

7,954 

6,813

1)  Other payables primarily consist of accruals related to ongoing research and develop-

ment clinical trials, royalty payments, deferred income and interest accruals etc.

25   Other adjustments for non-cash items

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Share-based payment costs 
(refer to note 28) 
Increase/(decrease) in provisions 
and benefi t obligations 
(Gains)/losses from sale of property, 
plant and equipment 
Change in allowances for doubtful 
trade receivables (refer to note 16) 
Unrealised (gain)/loss on equity 
investments and bonds etc 
Unrealised foreign exchange (gain)/loss 
Share of (profi t)/loss in associated 
companies (refer to note 13) 
Other, including difference between 
average exchange rate and year-end 
exchange rate 

463 

2,382 

71 

41 

259 

649 

(3) 

18 

(43) 
(467) 

21 
(253) 

331

221

95

69

30
24

(1,070) 

55 

124

457 

Other adjustments for non-cash items 

1,834 

113 

859 

(280)

614

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     79

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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27   Financial risk

Novo Nordisk has centralised the management of the Group’s fi nancial 
risks. The overall objectives and policies for the company’s fi nancial risk 
management are outlined in an internal Treasury Policy, which is approved 
by the Board of Directors. The Treasury Policy consists of the Foreign 
Exchange Policy, the Investment Policy, the Financing Policy and the Policy 
regarding Credit Risk on Financial Counterparts, and includes a description 
of allowed fi nancial instruments and risk limits.

DKK million 

2010
Other comprehensive income 
Income statement 

Total 

Novo Nordisk only hedges commercial exposures and consequently does 
not enter into derivative transactions for trading or speculative purposes. 
Novo Nordisk uses a fully integrated Treasury Management System to 
manage all fi nancial positions. All positions are marked-to-market based on 
real-time quotes and risk is assessed using generally accepted standards.

2009
Other comprehensive income 
Income statement 

Total 

5% increase in all 
currencies against 
DKK and EUR 

5% decrease in all
currencies against
DKK and EUR

(862) 
93 

(769) 

(878) 
(49) 

(927) 

893
(38)

855

879
98

977

Foreign exchange risk
Foreign exchange risk is the principal fi nancial risk for Novo Nordisk and 
as such has a signifi cant impact on the Income statement and Other com-
prehensive income, the Balance sheet and the Statement of cash fl ows.

The bulk of Novo Nordisk’s sales are in EUR, USD, JPY, CNY and GBP, while 
most production, research and development costs are carried in DKK. Con-
sequently, Novo Nordisk’s foreign exchange risk is most signifi cant in USD, 
JPY, CNY and GBP, while the EUR exchange rate risk is regarded as low due 
to the Danish fi xed-rate policy towards EUR.

The overall objective of foreign exchange risk management is to limit any 
short-term negative impact on earnings and cash fl ow from exchange rate 
fl uctuations, thereby increasing the predictability of the fi nancial results. 

Novo Nordisk hedges existing assets and liabilities in major currencies as 
well as future expected cash fl ows up to 24 months forward. Currency 
hedging is based upon expectations of future exchange rates and takes 
place using mainly foreign exchange forwards and foreign exchange 
 options matching the due dates of the hedged items. Expected cash fl ows 
are continually assessed using historical infl ows, budgets and monthly 
sales forecasts. Hedge effectiveness is assessed on a regular basis. 

In 2010, the USD, the JPY, the CNY and the GBP appreciated by 8.1%, 
22.6%, 11.8% and 5.3% versus the DKK respectively. In 2009, the USD, 
the JPY and the CNY depreciated by 1.8%, 3.9% and 1.7% versus the DKK 
 respectively, whereas the GBP appreciated by 7.6% versus the DKK.

Key currencies:

Exchange rate 
DKK per 100 

2010 
average  

2009 

2010 
average   end of year 

2009
end of year

USD 
JPY 
CNY 
GBP 

562 
6.42 
83 
869 

536 
5.73 
78 
836 

561 
6.89 
85 
867 

519
5.62
76
823

At year-end 2010, Novo Nordisk covered the foreign exchange exposures 
on the Balance sheet together with 15 months of expected future cash 
fl ow in USD. For JPY, CNY and GBP, the equivalent cover was 14 months, 
12 months and 10 months respectively. At the end of 2009, the USD and 
CNY cover was 17 months, and for JPY and GBP the cover was 15 months 
and 14 months respectively.

Foreign exchange sensitivity analysis
A 5% increase/decrease in the following currencies will impact Novo 
 Nordisk’s operating profi t as outlined in the table below:

DKK million 

USD 
JPY 
CNY 
GBP 

Estimated for 
2011 

620 
155 
120 
85 

2010 

580
150
100
80

The table below shows the effect on the fi nancial instruments if all other cur-
rencies increased by 5% and decreased by 5% respectively versus EUR and 
DKK at the end of 2010 and at the end of 2009.

80     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

The lower foreign exchange sensitivities in 2010, compared to 2009, are 
primarily a result of lower hedging covers as described in the above.

The fi nancial instruments included in the foreign exchange sensitivity 
 analysis are the Group’s: 

•  Cash,
•  Accounts receivable and Accounts payable,
•  Current and non-current loans,
•  Current and non-current fi nancial investments,
•  Foreign exchange forwards and Foreign exchange options hedging 

transaction exposure,

•  Interest rate swaps and Cross-currency swaps

Not included are anticipated currency transactions, investments and fi xed 
assets. 

Novo Nordisk only hedges invested equity in major foreign affi liates to a 
very limited extent. Equity hedging takes place using long-term cross-
currency swaps. At the end of 2010, hedged equity constituted 15% of 
the Group’s JPY equity. At the end of 2009, 16% of the Group’s JPY equity 
was hedged.

Interest rate risk
In general, DKK and EUR interest rates declined in 2010. The Danish two-
year interest rate was 1.8% at the end of 2010, down from 2.42% at the 
end of 2009. The three-month Cibor interest rate was 1.21% at the end 
of 2010, down from 1.55% in 2009.

Changes in interest rates affect Novo Nordisk’s fi nancial instruments. At 
the end of 2010, an increase in the interest rate level of 1 percentage point 
would, all else being equal, decrease the fair value of Novo Nordisk’s fi nan-
cial instruments by DKK 8 million (increase the fair value by DKK 19 million 
in 2009).

The fi nancial instruments included in the sensitivity analysis consist of 
Marketable securities, Deposits, Current and non-current loans, Interest rate 
swaps and Cross-currency swaps. Not included are Foreign exchange for-
wards and Foreign exchange options due to the limited effect that a parallel 
shift in interest rates in all currencies has on these instruments.

Liquidity risk
Novo Nordisk ensures availability of required liquidity through a com-
bination of cash management, highly liquid investment portfolios and 
uncom  mitted as well as committed facilities. Novo Nordisk uses cash pools 
for optimisation and centralisation of cash management. For non-cash 
pool affi liates, surplus cash above the balance required for working capital 
manage ment is deposited with the Parent company, which invests surplus 
cash in money market deposits and marketable securities.

Counterparty risk
The use of derivatives and money market deposits gives rise to counterparty 
exposure. To manage counterparty credit risk, Novo Nordisk only enters 
into derivative fi nancial contracts and money market deposits with fi nancial 
counterparties possessing a satisfactory long-term credit rating from both 
Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s. Currently, all of Novo Nordisk’s signifi -
cant fi nancial counterparties have a long-term credit rating in the AA or the 
A category. Furthermore, maximum credit lines defi ned for each counter-
party limit the overall counterparty risk.

The credit risk on bonds is limited as investments are made in highly liquid 
bonds with solid credit ratings.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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27   Financial risk (continued)

Credit risk on Trade receivables and Other current assets is limited as Novo 
Nordisk has no signifi cant concentration of credit risk, with exposure being 
spread over a large number of counterparties and customers.

Capital structure
Novo Nordisk’s capital structure is characterised by a substantial equity 
ratio. This is in line with the general capital structure of the pharma ceutical 
industry and refl ects the inherent long-term investment horizons in an 
industry with typically more than 10 years’ development time for pharma-
ceutical products. Novo Nordisk’s equity ratio, calculated as equity to total 
liabilities, was 60.2% at the end of the year (65.3% at the end of 2009).

For 2008, this group consisted of about 590 employees. The allocation to 
the joint pool was DKK 181 million, corresponding to 570,390 shares. The 
cost of this allocation will be amortised over the period 2008 –2011.

For 2009, this group consisted of about 675 employees. The allocation to 
the joint pool was DKK 186 million, corresponding to 605,218 shares. The 
cost of this allocation will be amortised over the period 2009 –2012.

For 2010, this group consisted of about 700 employees. The allocation to 
the joint pool was DKK 208 million, corresponding to 548,936 shares. The 
cost of this allocation will be amortised over the period 2010 –2013.

The total number of shares in the joint pools relating to the years 2008, 
2009 and 2010 is as follows:

28   Share-based payment schemes

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Employee shares 
Long-term share-based incentive 
programme (Senior Management Board) 
Long-term share-based incentive 
programme and share options 
(management group below 
Senior Management Board) 1) 

241 

64 

49 

54 

171

55

158 

156 

105

Share-based payment expensed in the 
Income statement 

463 

259 

331

1)  Includes long-term share-based incentive programme for 2007 to 2010 and share 

option programme for 2005 and 2006.

Employee shares
In 2010, a general employee share programme was implemented in Den-
mark. Approximately 11,000 employees have purchased 567,000 shares at 
a price of DKK 275 per share.

Outside Denmark the programme is structured as share options with the 
same initial benefi t per employee as in Denmark. Approximately 15,000 
employees have been granted share options and it is estimated that 
 approximately 273,000 share options will be exercised when the options 
vest in three years.

Long-term share-based incentive programme
For a description of the programme, please refer to the Remuneration 
report’ in the section Corporate governance, remuneration and leadership, 
pp 46 – 49.

The Board of Directors on 1 February 2011 approved the establishment of a 
joint pool, for members of the Senior Management Board, for the fi nancial 
year 2010 by allocating a total of 169,025 Novo Nordisk B shares. This 
allo cation amounts to eight months of fi xed base salary plus pension con-
tribution on average per participant, corresponding to a value at launch 
of the programme of DKK 64 million. This amount was expensed in 2010. 
The share price used for the conversion was the average share price 
(DKK 379) for Novo Nordisk B shares on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen from 
2–16 February 2010. Based on the split of participants at the establish-
ment of the joint pool, approximately 30% of the pool will be allocated to 
members of Executive Management and 70% to members of the Senior 
Management Board. 

The shares allocated to the joint pool for 2007 (166,292 shares), 
 corresponding to a value at launch of the programme of DKK 43 million 
expensed in 2007, were released to the individual participants on 1 February 
2011 following the approval of the Annual Report 2010 by the Board of 
Directors.

For the management group below the Senior Management Board, a 
share-based incentive programme with similar performance criteria was 
introduced in 2007. 

The shares allocated to the joint pool for 2007 (477,832 shares), cor-
responding to a value at launch of the programme of DKK 135 million 
amortised over the period 2007–2010, were released to the individual 
participants on 1 February 2011 following the approval of the Annual Report 
2010 by the Board of Directors. The number of shares to be transferred 
is lower than the original number of shares allocated to the share pool as 
some participants have left the company before the release conditions of 
the programme have been met. 

Year allocated to pool 

Senior Management Board
2008 1) 
2009 
2010 

Management group below 
Senior Management Board
2008 
2009 
2010 
Cancelled 

Total 

Number 
of shares 

166,302 
177,066 
169,025 

512,393 

570,390 
605,218 
548,936 
(62,590) 

1,661,954 

2,174,347 

Vesting

2012
2013
2014

2012
2013
2014

1)  The number of shares in the joint pool for 2008 has been reduced due to termina-

tion of an international member of the Senior Management Board.

For the service entities NNIT and NNE Pharmaplan, separate share-based 
incentive programmes have been set up that are similar to the general Novo 
Nordisk programme but operate with entity-specifi c targets.

Share options
Novo Nordisk established share option schemes in 1998 –2006 with the 
purpose of motivating and retaining a qualifi ed management group and 
to ensure common goals for Management and the owners. Each option 
gives the right to purchase one Novo Nordisk B share. All share options are 
hedged by treasury shares. No options have been granted since 2006 as the 
long-term incentive programme from 2007 onwards has been share-based.

The options are exercisable three years after the issue date and will expire 
after eight years. The exercise price for options granted based on per-
formance targets for the fi nancial years 2000 –2006 was equal to the 
market price of the Novo Nordisk B share at the time when the plan was 
established. The options can only be settled in shares.

The internal rules for trading in Novo Nordisk securities by board members, 
executives and certain  employees only permit trading in the 15-calendar-day 
period following each quarterly announcement.

Assumptions
The fair value of the Novo Nordisk B share options has been calculated 
 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

The expected volatility is calculated as one-year historic volatility – average 
of daily volatilities.

The assumptions used are shown in the table below:

Expected life of the option in years 
(average)  
Expected volatility  
Expected dividend per share (in DKK) 
Risk-free interest rate 
(based on Danish government bonds) 
Novo Nordisk B share price 
at the end of the year 

2010 

2009 

2008

4 
21% 
10.00 

6 
26% 
7.50 

6
29%
6.00

2.00% 

2.00% 

3.00%

629 

332 

271

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     81

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28   Share-based payment schemes (continued)

Outstanding share options in Novo Nordisk 

Outstanding at the end of 2008 

Exercised in 2009:
    Of 2000 ordinary share option plan 
    Of 2001 ordinary share option plan 
    Of 2003 ordinary share option plan 
    Of 2004 ordinary share option plan  
    Of 2005 ordinary share option plan 
    Of 2008 employee share options 1) 
Expired in 2009 
Cancelled in 2009 
Value adjustment 2) 

Outstanding at the end of 2009 

Employee share options granted in 2010 1) 
Exercised in 2010:
    Of 2001 ordinary share option plan 
    Of 2003 ordinary share option plan 
    Of 2004 ordinary share option plan  
    Of 2005 ordinary share option plan 
    Of 2006 ordinary share option plan 
    Of 2008 employee share options 1) 
Expired in 2010 
Cancelled in 2010 
Value adjustment 2) 

Outstanding at the end of 2010 

Average 
exercise price 
per option 
DKK 

Share 
options 

Fair value 
DKK million 

Calculated
fair value
per option
DKK

6,918,332 

133 

948 

(258,341) 
(113,484) 
(148,255) 
(186,350) 
(500,225) 
(1,530) 
(5,000) 
(105,700) 

99 
166 
97.5 
133.5 
153 
0 
99 
133 

(35) 
(15) 
(20) 
(25) 
(69) 
0 
(1) 
(14) 
287 

5,599,447 

135 

1,056 

273,000 

(370,400) 
(281,275) 
(297,000) 
(427,600) 
(986,847) 
(2,170) 
(57,708) 
(12,553) 

166 
97.5 
133.5 
153 
175 
0 
166 
135 

163 

(70) 
(53) 
(56) 
(81) 
(186) 
0 
(11) 
(2) 
950 

3,436,894 

110 

1,710 

137

137
137
137
137
137
137
137
137

189

597

189
189
189
189
189
189
189
189

498

1)  Granted to all employees outside Denmark under the 2008 and 2010 employee share option programme, with a benefi t equal to the benefi t obtained by the Danish-based 

employees under the employee share programme.

2)  The fair value has been calculated using the Black-Scholes model with the parameters existing at year-end of the respective year.

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Management’s share options

Share options in Novo Nordisk 

Executive Management:
Lars Rebien Sørensen 
Jesper Brandgaard 
Lise Kingo 
Kåre Schultz 
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen 

Executive Management in total 

At the 
beginning 
of the year 

Exercised 
during 
the year 

Additions 
during 
the year 3) 

At the end 
of the year 

Fair value 4)
DKK million

68,000 
33,000 
19,000 
– 
33,000 

29,000 
14,500 
19,000 

14,500 

153,000 

77,000 

39,000 
18,500 
– 
– 
18,500 

76,000 

125,350 

201,350 

– 

50 

50 

20.4
9.7
–
–
9.7

39.8

59.6

99.4

Other members of the Senior Management Board in total 

242,950 

117,650 

Total 

395,950 

194,650 

3)  Additions during the year cover the holdings of share options by the Senior Management Board members appointed in 2010.
4)  The fair value has been calculated using the Black-Scholes model with the parameters existing at year-end of the respective year.

The total number of options to acquire B shares held by Executive Management as of 1 February 2011 equals 76,000 and the specifi c conditions are from 
the ordinary 2003 share option plan. The 76,000 options are held with an exercise price of DKK 97.5. The exercise period is from 6 February 2007 until 
5 February 2012.

82     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28   Share-based payment schemes (continued)

Exercisable and outstanding 
share options in Novo Nordisk 

Issued 
share 
options 

Exercised 
share 
options 

2001 Ordinary share option plan 
2003 Ordinary share option plan 
2004 Ordinary share option plan 
2005 Ordinary share option plan 
2006 Ordinary share option plan 

1,369,960 
2,185,000 
1,618,832 
1,640,468 
2,229,084 

(1,216,464) 
(1,633,765) 
(1,049,866) 
(927,825) 
(986,847) 

Expired 

(57,708) 

  Outstanding/ 
exercisable 
share options 

Cancelled 

Exercise 
price 
DKK 

(95,788) 
(82,666) 
(118,000) 
(152,818) 
(179,053) 

– 
468,569 
450,966 
559,825 
1,063,184 

Exercisable at the end of 2010 

9,043,344 

(5,814,767) 

(57,708) 

(628,325) 

2,542,544 

2008 employee share options 
2010 employee share options 

694,500 
273,000 

(3,700) 

(69,450) 

621,350 
273,000 

Outstanding at the end of 2010 5)  10,010,844 

(5,818,467) 

(57,708) 

(697,775) 

3,436,894 

5)  All share options will vest if there is a change of control of Novo Nordisk A/S.

Average market price of Novo Nordisk B shares per trading period in 2010 

2 February – 16 February 
27 April – 11 May  
5 August – 19 August  
27 October – 10 November  

Total exercised options 

 166  
 98  
134 
 153  
175 

0 
0 

Exercise period

8/2/05 –   7/2/10
6/2/07 –   5/2/12
31/1/08 – 30/1/13
31/1/09 – 30/1/14
31/1/10 – 30/1/15

1/11/11
1/12/13

Average 
market price 
DKK 

Exercised
share
options

379 
463 
502 
556 

1,596,147
391,000
153,995
224,150

2,365,292

29   Management’s holdings of Novo Nordisk shares

The internal rules for trading in Novo Nordisk securities by board members, executives and certain employees only permit trading in the 15-calendar-day period 
following each quarterly announcement.

At the beginning 
of the year 

Addition 

Sold/released  
 during the year  during the year 

At the end  Market value 1)
DKK million
of the year 

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Shares in Novo Nordisk 

Board of Directors:
Sten Scheibye 
Göran A Ando 
Anne Marie Kverneland 
Henrik Gürtler 
Ulrik Hjulmand-Lassen 
Jørgen Wedel 
Kurt Anker Nielsen  
Hannu Ryöppönen 
Pamela J Kirby 
Stig Strøbæk 
Søren Thuesen Pedersen 

Board of Directors in total 

Executive Management:
Lars Rebien Sørensen 
Jesper Brandgaard 
Lise Kingo 
Kåre Schultz 
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen 

800 
1,600 
2,772 
– 
755 
11,000 
83,704 
600 
– 
420 
585 

89 

89 

1,000 

70 
89 

270 

2,000 

365 

800 
1,600 
2,591 
– 
844 
11,000 
81,704 
1,600 
– 
490 
309 

102,236 

1,337 

2,635 

100,938 

10,920 
420 
220 
45,100 
11,888 

55,138 
31,969 
36,469 
17,469 
31,969 

55,138 
27,430 
36,430 

17,430 

10,920 
4,959 
259 
62,569 
26,427 

0.5
1.0
1.6
–
0.5
6.9
51.4
1.0
–
0.3
0.2

63.4

6.9
3.1
0.2
39.3
16.6

66.1

57.5

Executive Management in total 

68,548 

173,014 

136,428 

105,134 

The Senior Management Board in total 

58,324 

249,370 

216,339 

91,355 

Joint pool for Executive Management and 
other members of the Senior Management Board 2)  

726,640 

169,025 

258,210 

637,455 3) 

401.0

Total 

955,748 

592,746 

613,612 

934,882 

588.0

1)  Calculation of the market value is based on the quoted share price of DKK 629 at the end of the year.
2)  The annual allocation to the joint pool is locked up for three years before it is transferred to the participants employed at the end of each three-year period. Based on the 
split of participants at the establishment of the joint pool, 30% of the pool will be allocated to the members of Executive Management and 70% to other members of the 
Senior Management Board. In the lock-up period, the joint pool may potentially be reduced in case of lower-than-planned value creation in subsequent years.

3)  Excludes 41,230 shares currently assigned for fi ve retired Senior Management Board members.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     83

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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30   Derivative fi nancial instruments 

Novo Nordisk uses a number of derivatives to hedge currency exposure. Novo Nordisk’s currency hedging activities are categorised into hedging of forecast 
transactions (cash fl ow hedges), hedging of assets and liabilities (fair value hedges) and hedging of net investments. None of the derivatives are held for 
 trading.

Total hedging activities
The table below summarises the fair values of all the hedging activities of Novo Nordisk.

DKK million 

Currency-related instruments
Forward contracts, cash fl ow hedges 
Forward contracts, fair value hedges 
Currency options, cash fl ow hedges 
Cross-currency swaps, cash fl ow hedges 
Cross-currency swaps, net investment hedges 

Total currency-related instruments 

Interest-related instruments
Interest rate swaps, cash fl ow hedges 

Total interest-related instruments 

Total derivatives included in:
Marketable securities and fi nancial instruments 
Current debt and fi nancial instruments 

Contract 
amount 
at year-end 

2010 

Positive 
fair value 
at year-end 

Negative 
fair value 
at year-end 

Contract 
amount 
at year-end 

2009 

Positive 
fair value 
at year-end 

Negative
fair value
at year-end

16,538 
2,318 
5,929 
818 
166 

25,769 

561 

561 

108 

658 
411 

20 
40 

108 

1,129 

– 

108 

29 

29 

1,158 

18,006 
3,702 
3,274 
817 
166 

25,965 

560 

560 

418 
7 
37 
55 

517 

– 

517 

Total hedging activities 

26,330 

108 

1,158 

26,525 

517 

Presentation in the Income statement and Other comprehensive income
The fair value adjustments are recognised as follows:

Fair value through the Income statement
Cash fl ow hedges for which hedge accounting is not applied 
Fair value hedges 

Total fair value adjustments through the Income statement 

Fair value through Other comprehensive income
Cash fl ow hedges for which hedge accounting is applied 
Net investment hedges 
(included in exchange rate adjustment) 

Total fair value adjustments through 
Other comprehensive income 

108 

108 

– 

35 
411 

446 

672 

40 

712 

Total fair value adjustments 

108 

1,158 

92 
7 

99 

418 

418 

517 

84     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

15
56

51
3

125

30

30

155

155

66
56

122

30

3

33

155

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30   Derivative fi nancial instruments (continued)

Hedging of forecast transactions (cash fl ow hedge)
The table below shows the fair value of cash fl ow hedging activities for 2010 and 2009 specifi ed by hedging instrument and the major currencies. The fair 
value of the fi nancial instruments qualifying for hedge accounting is recognised directly under Other comprehensive income until the hedged items affect 
the Income statement. At year-end, a loss of DKK 672 million is deferred via Other comprehensive income (a net gain of DKK 388 million in 2009). The fair 
values of the fi nancial instruments not qualifying for hedge accounting are recognised directly in the Income statement.

Contract 
amount 
at year-end 

2010 

Positive 
fair value 
at year-end 

Negative 
fair value 
at year-end 

Contract 
amount 
at year-end 

2009 

Positive 
fair value 
at year-end 

Negative
fair value
at year-end

DKK million 

Hedging of forecast transactions qualifying 
for hedge accounting

USD 
JPY 
GBP 
Other 

Total forward contracts 

USD 

Total currency options 1) 

EUR / USD 

Total cross-currency swaps 

EUR / EUR 

Total interest rate swaps 

Total cash fl ow hedges for which hedge 
accounting is applied 

11,264 
3,605 
1,063 
606 

16,538 

4,103 

4,103 

504 

504 

251 

251 

21,396 

292 
355 

11 

658 

– 

4 

4 

10 

10 

12,799 
3,728 
916 
563 

18,006 

– 

503 

503 

250 

250 

266 
132 
20 

418 

– 

– 

– 

672 

18,759 

418 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

1)  The positive fair value at year-end 2010 does not qualify for hedge accounting and is consequently disclosed in the table below.

Other forecast transaction hedges for which 
hedge accounting is not applied

EUR / USD 2) 
JPY/ DKK 

Total cross-currency swaps 

DKK / DKK 
EUR / EUR 2) 

Total interest rate swaps 

USD 

Total currency options 

Total cash fl ow hedges for which hedge 
accounting is not applied 

Total contracts of forecast transactions 

2)  The contract value is disclosed only in the upper table.

314 

314 

310 

310 

1,826 

1,826 

2,450 

23,846 

– 

– 

108 

108 

108 

108 

3 
13 

16 

11 
8 

19 

– 

35 

314 

314 

310 

310 

3,274 

3,274 

3,898 

55 

55 

– 

37 

37 

92 

707 

22,657 

510 

The fi nancial contracts existing at the end of the year (cash fl ow hedges) cover the expected future cash fl ow for the following number of months:

USD 
JPY 
GBP 
CNY 3) 

2010  

15 months 
14 months 
10 months 
12 months  

2009 

17 months 
15 months 
14 months 
17 months  

3)  USD used as proxy when hedging Novo Nordisk’s CNY currency exposure.

The maturity of the swaps existing at the end of 2010 is December 2011 and December 2012 (December 2011 and December 2012 at the end of 2009).

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     85

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15

15

–

11

11

4

4

30

40

40

17
9

26

–

66

96

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30   Derivative fi nancial instruments (continued)

Hedging of assets and liabilities (fair value hedge)
The table below shows the fair value of fair value hedging activities for 2010 and 2009 specifi ed by hedging instrument and the major currencies. 
All changes in fair values are recognised in the Income statement, amounting to a loss of DKK 411 million in 2010 (a net loss of DKK 49 million in 2009). 
As the hedges are highly effective, the net gain or loss on the hedged items is similar to the net loss or gain on the hedging instruments.

DKK million 

USD 
JPY 
GBP 
Other 

Total forward contracts 

Total hedging of assets and liabilities 

Contract 
amount 
at year-end 

2010 

Positive 
fair value 
at year-end 

Negative 
fair value 
at year-end 

Contract 
amount 
at year-end 

2009 

Positive 
fair value 
at year-end 

Negative
fair value
at year-end

890 
647 
262 
519 

2,318 

2,318 

225 
166 
7 
13 

411 

411 

– 

– 

2,092 
764 
304 
542 

3,702 

3,702 

25
13

18

56

56

7 

7 

7 

The fi nancial contracts existing at the end of the year hedge the currency exposure on assets and liabilities in the Group’s major currencies other than DKK 
and EUR, ie primarily assets and liabilities in USD, JPY and GBP.

Hedging of net investments in foreign subsidiaries (net investment hedge)
The table below shows the fair value of hedging activities relating to net investments in foreign subsidiaries for 2010 and 2009 specifi ed by hedging 
instrument and the major currencies. All changes in fair values relating to currency are recognised directly in Other comprehensive income, amounting 
to a loss of DKK 40 million in 2010 (a loss of DKK 3 million in 2009). All changes relating to interest rates are recognised in the Income statement, 
amounting to DKK 1 million in 2010 (DKK 1 million in 2009).

DKK million 

Total cross-currency swap JPY/DKK 

Total hedging of net investments in foreign subsidiaries 

Contract 
amount 
at year-end 

166 

166 

2010 

Positive 
fair value 
at year-end 

Negative 
fair value 
at year-end 

Contract 
amount 
at year-end 

40 

40 

– 

166 

166 

2009 

Positive 
fair value 
at year-end 

– 

Negative
fair value
at year-end

3

3

The maturity of the swap existing at the end of 2010 is November 2012.

The fi nancial contracts existing at the end of the year hedges 15% (16% in 2009) of the net investments in JPY. No other net investments have been hedged.

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86     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31   Commitments and contingencies

The latest interest rate fi xing has been used to compute the contractual 
obligation for interest on variable-rate debt instruments.

Commitments

The total contractual obligations and recognised non-current debt as of 
31 December 2010 can be specifi ed as follows:

Payments due by period

DKK million 

Non-current debt 
Retirement benefi t 
obligations 

Total non-current 
liabilities recognised 
in the Balance sheet 

Interest payments related 
to non-current debt 
Operating leases 1) 
Purchase obligations 
Research and develop-
ment obligations 

Total obligations 
not recognised in the 
Balance sheet 

Total contractual 
obligations 

Less 
than one 
year 

One 
to three 
years 

Three 
to fi ve 
years 

More 
than fi ve 
years 

Total

– 

17 

48 

33 

97 

31 

359 

488 

504

569

17 

81 

128 

847 

1,073

8 
785 
1,386 

16 
1,147 
1,327 

13 
682 
1,361 

22 
813 
189 

59
3,427
4,263

1,078 

876 

475 

81 

2,510

3,257 

3,366 

2,531 

1,105 

10,259

3,274 

3,447 

2,659 

1,952 

11,332

As of 31 December 2009 the contractual obligations and recognised 
non-current debt are specifi ed as follows:

Less 
than one 
year 

One 
to three 
years 

Three 
to fi ve 
years 

More 
than fi ve 
years 

– 

467 

14 

26 

96 

25 

407 

391 

Total

970

456

14 

493 

121 

798 

1,426

8 
670 
1,522 

14 
1,000 
442 

12 
661 
67 

24 
679 
20 

58
3,010
2,051

1,742 

201 

23 

23 

1,989

Payments due by period

DKK million 

Non-current debt 
Retirement benefi t 
obligations 

Total non-current 
liabilities recognised 
in the Balance sheet 

Interest payments related 
to non-current debt 
Operating leases 1)  
Purchase obligations 
Research and develop-
ment obligations 

Total obligations 
not recognised in the 
Balance sheet 

Total contractual 
obligations 

3,942 

1,657 

763 

746 

7,108

Contingencies

3,956 

2,150 

884 

1,544 

8,534

1)  No material fi nance lease obligations exist in 2010 and 2009.

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The operating lease commitments are related to non-cancellable operating 
leases primarily related to premises, company cars and offi ce equipment. 
Approximately 68% of the commitments are related to leases outside 
 Denmark. The lease costs for 2010 and 2009 were DKK 933 million and 
DKK 615 million respectively.

The purchase obligations primarily relate to contractual obligations in 
connection with investments in property, plant and equipment as well as 
purchase agreements regarding medical equipment and consumer goods. 
Novo Nordisk expects to fund these commitments with existing cash and 
cash fl ows from operations.

Research and development obligations contain uncertainties in relation to 
the period in which payments are due as a proportion of the obligations 
are dependent on milestone achievements. The due periods disclosed 
are based on Management’s best estimate. Novo Nordisk has engaged in 
research and development projects with a number of external enterprises. 
Most of these obligations comprise post-approval study on the LEADER ® 
programme.

DKK million 

Other guarantees 
Other guarantees primarily relate to guarantees 
issued by Novo Nordisk in relation to rented 
property

Security for debt 
Land, buildings and equipment etc at carrying 
amount

2010 

2009

555 

443

1,366 

1,459

World Diabetes Foundation
At the Annual General Meeting of Novo Nordisk A/S in 2002, the share  -
holders agreed on a donation to the World Diabetes Foundation, obligat-
ing Novo Nordisk A/S for a period of 10 years from 2001 to make annual 
donations to the Foundation of 0.25% of the net insulin sales of the Group 
in the preceding fi nancial year.

At the Annual General Meeting in 2008, a new donation in supplement to 
the existing obligation was agreed on by the shareholders. According to 
this agreement, Novo Nordisk is obliged to make annual donations to the 
Foundation of 0.01% in the period 2008 –2010 and 0.125% in the period 
2011–2017 of the net insulin sales of the Group in the preceding fi nancial 
year.

However, annual donations for 2010 shall not exceed the lower of 
DKK 70 million or 15% of the taxable income of Novo Nordisk A/S, and for 
the period 2011–2017 the lower of DKK 80 million or 15% of the taxable 
income of Novo Nordisk A/S in the fi nancial year in question.

In 2010 the donation amounts to DKK 69 million (DKK 68 million in both 
2009 and 2008), which is recognised in Administrative expenses in the 
Income statement. In addition Novo Nordisk has committed to pay an 
amount of DKK 25 million for the period covering 2011–2012 to support 
predetermined WDF activities.

Novo Nordisk is currently involved in pending litigations, claims and 
 investigations arising out of the normal conduct of its business. Whilst 
provisions have been made for probable losses that Management deems to 
be reasonable or appropriate, there are uncertainties connected with these 
estimates. The below description of legal matters also include some of the 
provisions made.

See note 1 for the principles for making accounting estimates and judge-
ments about pending and potential future litigation outcomes.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     87

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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31   Commitments and contingencies (continued)

Pending litigation against Novo Nordisk
Along with a majority of the hormone therapy product manufacturers in 
the US, Novo Nordisk is a defendant in pro duct liability lawsuits related to 
hormone therapy products. These lawsuits currently involve a total of 
50 individuals (as compared to 52 individuals in February 2010) who allege 
to have used a Novo Nordisk hormone therapy product. These products 
(Activella® and Vagifem®) have been sold and marketed in the US since 
2000. Until July 2003, the products were sold and marketed exclusively in 
the US by Pharmacia & Upjohn Company (now Pfi zer Inc.). According to in-
formation received from Pfi zer, 72 individuals (as compared to 63  individuals 
in February 2010) currently allege, in relation to similar lawsuits against 
Pfi zer Inc., that they also have used a Novo Nordisk hormone therapy pro-
duct. Currently, Novo Nordisk does not have any trials scheduled in 2011. 
Novo Nordisk does not expect the pending claims to have a material impact 
on Novo Nordisk’s fi nancial position, operating profi t or cash fl ow.

In November 2006, Novo Nordisk A/S and the Italian affi liate Novo Nordisk 
Farmaceutici S.P.A. were sued by A. Menarini Industrie Farmaceutiche 
Riunite s.r.l. and Laboratori Guidotti S.P.A. (‘Menarini’) in the Civil Court in 
Rome. Menarini alleges that Novo Nordisk breached an alleged contract 
with Menarini for the sale and distribution of insulin and insulin analogues 
in the Italian market or, in the alternative, has incurred a pre-contractual 
or extra-contractual liability arising from negotiations between the parties.
Novo Nordisk disputes the claims made by Menarini. A hearing on the
matter is scheduled to take place in May 2011. Novo Nordisk cannot
predict how long the litigation will take or when it will be able to provide 
additional information. At this point in time, Novo Nordisk does not expect 
the pending claim to have a material impact on Novo Nordisk’s fi nancial 
position, operating profi t or cash fl ow.

Novo Nordisk Inc. is currently a defendant in two separate cases fi led in the 
US alleging that Novo Nordisk and a number of other pharmaceutical com-
panies provided a false Average Wholesale Price for certain drugs covered 
by Medicaid. These cases have been brought by the State of Alabama and 
the State of Louisiana. Novo Nordisk was dismissed from a similar action 
brought by the State of Mississippi. In 2010, Novo Nordisk settled similar 
cases brought by three New York Counties. Novo Nordisk does not expect 
the pending claims to have a material impact on Novo Nordisk’s fi nancial 
position, operating profi t or cash fl ow.

In addition to the above, the Novo Nordisk Group is engaged in certain
litigation proceedings. In the opinion of Management, settlement or
continuation of these proceedings is not expected to have a material
effect on Novo Nordisk’s fi nancial position, operating profi t or cash fl ow.

Pending claims against Novo Nordisk and investigations 
involving Novo Nordisk
In December 2005, the offi ce of the US Attorney for the Eastern District 
of New York issued a subpoena directed to Novo Nordisk calling for the 
 production of documents relating to Novo Nordisk’s US marketing and 
promotional practices. Novo Nordisk assesses that the investigation is 
limited to its insulin products. The subpoena indicates that the documents 
are necessary for the investigation of potential criminal offences relating to 
healthcare benefi t programmes. Novo Nordisk is cooperating with the 
US Attorney in this investigation. At this point in time, Novo Nordisk cannot 
determine or predict the outcome of the investigation. In addition, Novo 
Nordisk cannot predict how long the investigation will take or when the 
company will be able to provide additional information.

In May 2009 Novo Nordisk entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement 
(DPA) for a three-year period with the US Department of Justice relating 
to certain actions undertaken by Novo Nordisk under the Iraq Oil for Food 
Programme. Novo Nordisk must comply with the DPA (including US regula-
tion related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Foreign Assets Control) 
in order for the case to be dismissed. If Novo Nordisk breaches the DPA, the 
prosecution may resume.

In light of the DPA, Novo Nordisk has identifi ed and self-reported certain 
US Foreign Assets Control concerns to the US authorities. At this point in 
time, Novo Nordisk cannot determine or predict the outcome or when the 
next update related to this case will be available.

In January 2010, the Inspector General of the US Department of Defense 
issued a subpoena directed to Novo Nordisk to provide documents relating 
to NovoSeven®. Novo Nordisk is cooperating with the Offi ce of the 
Inspector General and the US Attorney’s Offi ce for the District of Maryland 
in responding to the subpoena, but cannot, at this point in time, deter-
mine or predict the outcome of the investigation or when the next update 
related to this case will be available given the unpredictable nature of these 
investigations.

In June 2005 Novo Nordisk fi led a patent infringement lawsuit against Caraco 
Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. (‘Caraco’), a generic pharmaceutical com-
pany, and its Indian parent, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., in the US Dis-
trict Court for the Eastern District of Michigan regarding Caraco’s abbreviated 
new drug application (‘ANDA’) for a generic version of Prandin® (repaglinide) 
containing claims directed to the use of repaglinide in combination with 
metformin. In January 2011, the District Court ruled that Novo Nordisk’s US 
patent No. 6,677,358, which covers the combination use of repaglinide and 
metformin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is invalid and unenforceable, 
the latter due to inequitable conduct. Novo Nordisk has on 26 January 2011 
fi led an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Also pending before the District Court in Michigan and the US District Court 
for the District of Minnesota are separate cases where a putative class of 
direct purchasers of Prandin® and Paddock Laboratories, Inc., respectively as-
sert that Novo Nordisk has violated US antitrust laws in delaying the entry of 
generic versions of Prandin®. Lastly, Novo Nordisk is involved in litigation with 
Sandoz Inc. and Lupin Ltd. in the US District Court for the Southern District 
of New York in which Novo Nordisk asserts that Sandoz & Lupin’s ANDAs to 
produce a generic version of PrandiMet® (repaglinide/metformin HCl) infringe 
Novo Nordisk’s patent.

At present, it is unclear whether or when a generic version of Prandin® or 
PrandiMet® will be available in the US market.

In addition to the above, the Novo Nordisk Group is engaged in various 
ongoing tax audits and investigations. In the opinion of Management, 
these pending audits and investigations are not expected to have a material 
effect on Novo Nordisk’s fi nancial position, operating profi t or cash fl ow.

Liability for the debts and obligations of Novozymes following 
the demerger of Novozymes in 2000
Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S are subject to joint and several 
 liabilities for any obligation that existed at the time of the announcement 
of the demerger in 2000. At the end of the year, the remaining part of the 
joint and several liabilities in Novozymes A/S amounted to DKK 557 million 
(DKK 557 million in 2009). 

Debts and obligations pertaining to the period before 1 January 2000, 
which are recognised after 1 January 2000 and which cannot be clearly 
attributed to either Novo Nordisk A/S or Novozymes A/S, will be distributed 
proportionally between the two companies according to an agreement 
established in connection with the demerger in November 2000.

Disclosure regarding Change of Control
The EU Takeover Bids Directive, as partially implemented by the Danish 
Financial Statements Act, contains certain rules relating to listed companies 
on disclosure of information that may be of interest to the market and 
potential takeover bidders, in particular in relation to disclosure of change 
of control provisions. 

For information on the ownership structure of Novo Nordisk, please refer 
to Shares and capital structure on pp 54 – 56. For information on change 
of control clauses in share option programmes, please refer to note 28, 
‘Share-based payment schemes’ on pp 81– 83 and in relation to employee 
contracts of Executive Management of Novo Nordisk, please refer to the 
‘Remuneration report’ in the section Corporate governance, remuneration 
and leadership, pp 46 – 49.

In addition, Novo Nordisk discloses that the Group has signifi cant agree-
ments to which the Group is a party and which take effect, alter or 
terminate upon a change of control of the Group following implementation 
of a take-over bid. If effected, a takeover could – at the discretion of each 
relevant counterparty – lead to the termination of one or more of such 
agreements and a total loss of approximately 5% of Novo Nordisk’s sales, 
corresponding to approximately 4% of Novo Nordisk‘s gross profi t.

88     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
32   Related party transactions

Novo Nordisk A/S is controlled by Novo A/S (incorporated in Denmark), 
which owns 25.5% of the shares in Novo Nordisk A/S representing 72.8% 
of the total number of votes, excluding treasury shares. The remaining 
shares are widely held. The ultimate parent of the Group is the Novo 
Nordisk Foundation (incorporated in Denmark). Both entities are considered 
related parties.

Other related parties are considered to be the Novozymes Group due to 
joint ownership, associated companies, the directors and offi cers of these 
entities and Management of Novo Nordisk A/S. Following the demerger 
of Novozymes in November 2000, Novo Nordisk A/S has access to certain 
assets of and may purchase certain services from Novo A/S and the 
Novozymes Group, and vice versa. All agreements relating to such assets 
and services are based on the list prices used for sales to third parties, 
where such list prices exist, or the price has been set at what is regarded as 
the market price. Most of these agreements cover one year.

In 2010, Novo Nordisk A/S acquired 5,100,000 B shares, worth DKK 2.6 
billion, from Novo A/S as part of the DKK 9.5 billion share repurchase pro-
gramme. The transaction price was DKK 503 per share and was calculated 
as the average market price from 5 August to 19 August 2010 in the open 
window following the announcement of the fi nancial results for the second 
quarter of 2010.

In 2009, Novo Nordisk A/S acquired 3,570,000 B shares, worth DKK 1.1 
 billion, from Novo A/S as part of the DKK 19 billion share repurchase pro-
gramme. The transaction price was DKK 311 per share and was calculated 
as the average market price from 6 August to 7 August 2009 in the open 
window following the announcement of the fi nancial results for the second 
quarter of 2009.

In 2008, Novo Nordisk A/S acquired 3,304,800 B shares, worth DKK 1.0 
billion, from Novo A/S as part of the share repurchase programme. The 
trans action price was DKK 307 per share and was calculated as the average 
market price from 7 August to 13 August 2008 in the open window fol-
lowing the announcement of the fi nancial results for the second quarter of 
2008.

The Group has had the following material transactions with related parties 
(income)/expense:

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

Novo Nordisk Foundation
Donations to Novo Nordisk  

Novo A/S
Services provided by Novo Nordisk  
Purchase of Novo Nordisk B shares 
Sale of treasury shares 
(related to share options) 

Novozymes
Services provided by Novo Nordisk 
Services provided by Novozymes  

Associated companies
Purchased intangible assets, fees 
and royalties etc paid to associated 
companies by Novo Nordisk  
Received intangible assets, fees 
and royalties etc from associated 
companies to Novo Nordisk  

(38) 

(32) 

(29)

(3) 
2,567 

(8) 
1,111 

 (6)
1,016

(2) 

(2) 

(9)

(395) 
83 

(357) 
118 

 (284)
147

16 

184 

40

(4) 

– 

(12)

Transactions with associated companies are included up until the date of 
transfer or disposal. 

There are no contingent liabilities towards associated companies.

There have not been any material transactions with any director or offi cer 
of Novo Nordisk, Novozymes, Novo A/S, the Novo Nordisk Foundation or 
associated companies. For information on remuneration to the Manage-
ment of Novo Nordisk, please refer to the ‘Remuneration report’ in the 
section Corporate governance, remuneration and leadership, pp 46 – 49. 
There have not been and are no loans to the Board of Directors or Executive 
 Management in 2010, 2009 and 2008.

There are no material unsettled transactions with related parties at the end 
of the year.

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Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     89

 
 
 
 
 
 
s
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33   Companies in the Novo Nordisk Group

Country 

Year of 
incorporation/ 
acquisition 

Currency 

Issued 
share capital/ 
paid-in capital 

Percentage 
of shares 
owned 

Activity

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a
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R

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S

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•  •  •  •

Parent company
Novo Nordisk A/S 

Subsidiaries by region

Denmark 

1931 

DKK 

600,000,000 

– 

•  •  •  •

1974 
1974 
2009 
2005 
2004 
1997 
2002 
1972 
2003 
1959 
1973 
1979 
1996 
1978 
1980 
2005 
2006 
1983 
1965 
1996 
1984 
2005 
2005 
2007 
2006 
1978 
1971 
2003 
2000 
1968 
1977 
1978 

1983 
2003 
2007 
1991 
1982 

2002 
1980 
1994 

EUR 
EUR 
BAM 
BGN 
HRK 
CZK 
DKK 
EUR 
EUR 
EUR 
EUR 
EUR 
HUF 
EUR 
EUR 
LTL 
MKD 
EUR 
NOK 
PLN 
EUR 
RON 
EUR 
EUR 
EUR 
EUR 
SEK 
CHF 
CHF 
CHF 
GBP 
GBP 

CAD 
DKK 
USD 
USD 
USD 

36,336 
69,000 
97.792 
5,880,000 
5,000,000 
14,500,000 
108,370,500 
420,500 
5,821,140 
57,710,220 
614,062 
1,050,000 
371,000,000 
635 
516,500 
2,150,000 
14,068,285 
61,155 
250,000 
29,021,000 
250,000 
2,795,000 
640,000 
265,552 
2,679,286 
1,502,500 
100,000 
1,100,000 
159,325,000 
50,000 
2,802,130 
2,350,000 

200 
500,000 
50,000 
55,000,000 
283,837,600 

15,500,000 
DKK 
JPY 
2,104,000,000 
KRW  6,108,400,000 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

100 
100 
100 

Austria 
Belgium 
Bosnia-Herzegovina 
Bulgaria 
Croatia 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Finland 
France 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 
Lithuania 
Macedonia 
Netherlands 
Norway 
Poland 

Europe
Novo Nordisk Pharma GmbH 
SA Novo Nordisk Pharma NV 
Novo Nordisk Pharma d.o.o. 
Novo Nordisk Pharma EAD 
Novo Nordisk Hrvatska d.o.o. 
Novo Nordisk s.r.o. 
Novo Nordisk Region Europe A/S 
Novo Nordisk Farma OY 
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutique SAS  
Novo Nordisk Production SAS 
Novo Nordisk Pharma GmbH 
Novo Nordisk Hellas Epe. 
Novo Nordisk Hungária Kft. 
Novo Nordisk Limited  
Novo Nordisk Farmaceutici S.P.A. 
UAB Novo Nordisk Pharma 
Novo Nordisk Farma dooel 
Novo Nordisk B.V. 
Novo Nordisk Scandinavia AS 
Novo Nordisk Pharma Sp. z.o.o. 
Novo Nordisk Comércio Produtos Farmace˜ uticos Lda.  Portugal 
Romania 
Novo Nordisk Farma S.R.L. 
Serbia 
Novo Nordisk Pharma d.o.o. Belgrade (Serbia) 
Novo Nordisk Slovakia s.r.o. 
Slovakia 
Novo Nordisk, trzˇenje farmacevtskih izdelkov d.o.o.  Slovenia 
Novo Nordisk Pharma S.A. 
Novo Nordisk Scandinavia AB 
Novo Nordisk FemCare AG 
Novo Nordisk Health Care AG 
Novo Nordisk Pharma AG 
Novo Nordisk Holding Limited 
Novo Nordisk Limited 

Spain 
Sweden 
Switzerland 
Switzerland 
Switzerland 
United Kingdom 
United Kingdom 

North America
Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. 
Novo Nordisk Region North America A/S 
Novo Nordisk US Holdings Inc. 
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. 
Novo Nordisk Inc. 

Japan & Korea
Novo Nordisk Region Japan & Oceania A/S 
Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd. 
Novo Nordisk Pharma Korea Ltd. 

Canada 
Denmark 
United States 
United States 
United States 

Denmark 
Japan 
South Korea 

90     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

•

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•  •  •
•  •  •
• 

•

•
•

•

• 

• 

• 

•  • 

•  •  • 
• 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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33   Companies in the Novo Nordisk Group (continued)

Country 

Year of 
incorporation/ 
acquisition 

Currency 

Issued 
share capital/ 
paid-in capital 

Percentage 
of shares 
owned 

Activity

l

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P

•  •  •  •

1994 
1997 
1985 
2007 
2002 
1990 
2006 
1994 

Algeria 
Argentina 
Australia 
Bangladesh 
Brazil 
Brazil 
Chile 
China 

International Operations
Aldaph SpA 
Novo Nordisk Pharma Argentina S.A. 
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Pty. Ltd. 
Novo Nordisk Pharma (Private) Limited 
Novo Nordisk Produção Farmacêutica do Brasil Ltda. 
Novo Nordisk Farmacêutica do Brasil Ltda. 
Novo Nordisk Farmacêutica Limitada 
Novo Nordisk (China) Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. 
Beijing Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Science & 
Technology Co., Ltd. 
Novo Nordisk Pharma Operations A/S 
Novo Nordisk Region International Operations A/S 
Novo Nordisk Egypt LLC 
Novo Nordisk Hong Kong Limited 
Novo Nordisk India Private Limited 
PT. Novo Nordisk Indonesia 
Novo Nordisk Pars 
Novo Nordisk Ltd 
Novo Nordisk Lebanon 
Novo Nordisk Pharma (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 
Novo Nordisk Mexico S.A. de C.V. 
Novo Nordisk Pharma SAS 
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 
Novo Nordisk Nigeria Ltd. 
Novo Nordisk Pharma (Private) Limited 
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals (Philippines) Inc. 
Novo Nordisk Limited Liability Company 
Novo Nordisk Production Support LLC 
Novo Investment Pte Limited 
Novo Nordisk Pharma (Singapore) Pte Ltd. 
Novo Nordisk (Pty) Limited 
Novo Nordisk Pharma (Taiwan) Ltd. 
Novo Nordisk Pharma (Thailand) Ltd. 
Novo Nordisk Tunisie SARL 
Novo Nordisk Saglik Ürünleri Tic. Ltd. Sti.  
Novo Nordisk Pharma Gulf FZ-LLC 
Novo Nordisk Venezuela Casa de Representación C.A.  Venezuela 

2006 
China 
2009 
Denmark 
2002 
Denmark 
2004 
Egypt 
2001 
Hong Kong 
1994 
India 
2003 
Indonesia 
2005 
Iran 
1997 
Israel 
2007 
Lebanon 
1992 
Malaysia 
2004 
Mexico 
2006 
Morocco 
1990 
New Zealand 
2006 
Nigeria 
2005 
Pakistan 
1999 
Philippines 
2003 
Russia 
2010 
Russia 
1994 
Singapore 
1997 
Singapore 
1959 
South Africa 
1990 
Taiwan 
1983 
Thailand 
2004 
Tunisia 
1993 
Turkey 
United Arab Emirates  2005 
2004 

Other subsidiaries
FeF Chemicals A/S 
NNIT A/S 1) 
NNE Pharmaplan A/S 1) 
Steno Diabetes Center A/S 

Associated companies
Harno Invest A/S 

Denmark 
Denmark 
Denmark 
Denmark 

1989 
1998 
1989 
2008 

DZD 
ARS 
AUD 
BDT 
BRL 
BRL 
CLP 
USD 

USD 
DKK 
DKK 
EGP 
HKD 
INR 
IDR 
IRR 
ILS 
LBP 
MYR 
MXN 
MAD 
NZD 
NGN 
PKR 
PHP 
RUB 
RUB 
SGD 
SGD 
ZAR 
TWD 
THB 
TND 
TRY 
AED 
VEF 

DKK 
DKK 
DKK 
DKK 

1,742,650,000 
7,465,150 
500,001 
17,500,000 
896,834,727 
84,727,136 
758,271,200 
371,155,362 

2,000,000 
500,000 
113,303,310 
50,000 
500,000 
265,000,000 
827,900,000 
10,000,000 
100 
600,000,000 
500,000 
387,816,547 
2,597,000 
1,000,000 
10,000,000 
43,000,000 
50,000,000 
188,243,360 
5,100,000 
12,000,000 
200,000 
8,000 
9,000,000 
15,500,000 
400,000 
25,296,300 
100,000 
2,250,000 

10,000,000 
1,000,000 
500,000 
1,000,000 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
49 
100 
100 
100 
100 

100 
100 
100 
100 

•  • 
• 
• 
• 

• 

• 
• 
•  • 

• 

•
•

•

•

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 

•  • 

•
•
•  •

•

Denmark 

1992 

DKK 

70,419,910 

30 

1)  In addition to the listed companies, NNIT A/S and NNE Pharmaplan A/S have their own subsidiaries.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     91

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Financial defi nitions

ADRs
An American Depositary Receipt (or ADR) represents ownership in the 
shares of a non-US company and trades in US fi nancial markets.

Basic earnings per share (EPS)
Net profi t divided by the average number of shares outstanding.

Gross margin
Gross profi t as a percentage of sales.

Net profi t margin
Net profi t as a percentage of sales.

Cash to earnings
Free cash fl ow as a percentage of net profi t.

Diluted earnings per share
Net profi t divided by the sum of average number of shares outstanding, 
including the dilutive effect of share options ‘in the money’. The dilutive  
effect of share options ‘in the money’ is calculated as the difference 
 between the following:
1) the number of shares that could have been acquired at fair value with 
proceeds from the exercise of the share options, and
2) the number of shares that would have been issued assuming the exercise 
of the share options.
The difference (the dilutive effect) is added to the denominator as an issue 
of shares for no consideration.

Effective tax rate
Income taxes as a percentage of profi t before income taxes.

Equity ratio
Total equity at year-end as a percentage of total assets at year-end.

Free cash fl ow
The sum of cash fl ow from operating activities less cash fl ow from net 
investment in intangible, tangible assets, associated companies and other 
equity investments.

Number of shares outstanding
The total number of shares, excluding the holding of treasury shares.

Operating profi t margin
Operating profi t as a percentage of sales.

Other comprehensive income
Other comprehensive income comprises all non-owner changes, eg items 
of income and expense (including reclassifi cation adjustments) that are not 
recognised in the Income statement.

Payout ratio
Total dividends for the year as a percentage of net profi t.

Return on equity (ROE)
Net profi t for the year as a percentage of shareholders’ equity (average).

Return on invested capital (ROIC)
Operating profi t after tax (using the effective tax rate) as a percentage of 
invested capital (average). Invested capital comprises average inventories, 
receivables, property, plant and equipment as well as intangible assets less 
non-interest-bearing liabilities including provisions (the sum of the above 
assets and liabilities at the beginning of the year and at year-end divided 
by two).

92     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
Non-fi nancial statement for the year ended 31 December

Note 

2010 

2009 

2008

Social performance

Patients
2 
Donations to the World Diabetes Foundation (DKK million) 
2 
Donations to the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation (DKK million) 
3 
Healthcare professionals trained or educated in diabetes (1,000) (accumulated) 
3 
People with diabetes trained (1,000) 
LDCs where Novo Nordisk sells insulin according to the differential pricing policy (%)  3 

Active patent families  
New patent families (fi rst fi lings) 
Animals purchased 
People participating in clinical trials 

Employees
Employees (total) 
Employee turnover (%) 
Absence (%) 
Frequency of occupational injuries (number/million working hours) 
Annual training costs per employee (DKK) 
Engaging culture (employee engagement) on a scale of 1– 5 
Diverse senior management teams (%) 

Employment impact worldwide (direct and indirect jobs) 

Assurance
Company reputation with external key stakeholders on a scale of 0 –100  
Employees trained in business ethics (%) 
Warning letters and re-inspections  
Fulfi lment of action points from facilitations of the
Novo Nordisk Way (%) of Management 
Supplier audits 

Environmental performance

Inputs
Energy consumption (1,000 GJ) 
Water consumption (1,000 m3) 
Raw materials and packaging materials (1,000 tons) 

Outputs
CO2 emissions from energy consumption (1,000 tons)  
CO2 emissions from refrigerants (1,000 tons) 
CO2 emissions from transport (1,000 tons) 
Wastewater (1,000 m3) 
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) in wastewater (tons) 
Total waste (tons) 
Non-hazardous waste (% of total waste) 
Breaches of regulatory limit values  

1) N/A denotes values that were not recorded in the respective period.

4 
4 
5 
6 

7 
7 
8 
8 
7 
7 
7 

9 

10 
11 
12 

13 
14 

15 
16 
17 

18 
18 
18 
19 
19 
20 
20 
21 

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69 
15 
1,178 
494 
67 

817 
62 
62,927 
19,361 

30,483 
9.1 
2.4 
4.9 
14,207 
4.3 
54 

68 
15 
805 
416 
73 

905 
55 
57,315 
11,130 

29,329 
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2.6  
4.3 
13,283 
4.3 
50 

68
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890
71
57,253
13,822

27,068
12.1
2.2
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13,192
4.2
43

108,248 

96,468 

88,521

76.1 
98 
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93 
192 

2,234 
2,047 
65 

95 
6 
57 
1,935 
555 
20,565 
68 
18 

76.3 
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0 

93 
196 

72.4
N/A 1)
0

92
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2,246 
2,149 
79 

2,533
2,684
132

146 
6 
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2,062 
617 
21,019 
64 
10 

215
N/A 1)
N/A 1)

2,542
891
20,346
70
28

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     93

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Notes to the Consolidated non-fi nancial statements

1   Accounting policies for non-fi nancial data

The accounting policies applied to the preparation of the consolidated non-
fi nancial reporting have been consistently applied to the years presented, 
except as described below in ‘Changes in non-fi nancial accounting policies’.

Standards for non-fi nancial reporting 
The consolidated non-fi nancial statement is prepared in accordance with 
the Danish Financial Statements Act (FSA), section 99a. Section 99a requires 
Novo Nordisk to account for the company’s activities on social respons ibility, 
reporting on business strategies and activities on human rights, labour 
standards, environment and anti-corruption. Companies that subscribe 
to the UN Global Compact and annually submit their Communication on 
Progress will be in compliance with the FSA, provided that the annual report 
includes a reference to where the information has been made publicly 
avail  able. Novo Nordisk’s Communication on Progress 2010 can be found at 
annualreport2010.novonordisk.com and on UN Global Compact’s website 
at unglobalcompact.org/COP.

Novo Nordisk has set an ambition that non-fi nancial information be subject 
to the same types of internal control procedures required of fi nancial data. 
Novo Nordisk has been working towards this objective since 2008.

Novo Nordisk adheres to the following internationally acknowledged 
 voluntary standards and principles:

•  AA1000 framework for accountability. The framework states that report-
ing must provide a complete, accurate, relevant and balanced picture 
of the organisation’s approach to and impact on society. Novo Nordisk’s 
assurance process is designed according to AA1000AS(2008).

•  Global Compact. As a signatory to the UN Global Compact, a strategic 

policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their 
operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the 
areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, Novo 
Nordisk reports on actions during 2010 to implement the 10 principles in 
the Com  munication on Progress, which can be found at 
annualreport2010.novonordisk.com.

•  Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. 
The guidelines (G3) include the only internationally recognised set of 
indicators for economic, environmental and social aspects of business 
performance that enables stakeholders to compare companies’ perform-
ance. Novo Nordisk’s reporting according to the reporting principles 
and guidance, including required disclosures, can be found at 
annualreport2010.novonordisk.com.

Defi ning materiality
It is Novo Nordisk’s responsibility to ensure that those areas are addressed 
in which the company has signifi cant impact. Novo Nordisk has sought 
inspiration in AccountAbility’s materiality test to defi ne what is material 
to Novo Nordisk’s business and what should be included in the annual 
 reporting. Non-fi nancial issues are prioritised to be reported either in the 
printed annual report (most material; business critical), online (material,  
often  catering to specifi c stakeholder interests), or not reported (not 
 material). The same  process applies for the assurance provider’s recom-
mendations.

The outcomes of formal reviews, research, stakeholder engagement and 
internal materiality discussions are presented as a proposal for annual 
reporting to Executive Management and the Board of Directors. In addition, 
Novo Nordisk’s external assurance provider is requested to review whether 
the non-fi nancial performance included in the annual report covers the 
material aspects. The conclusion is available in the Independent assurance 
report on non-fi nancial reporting 2010 on p 111.

As a pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk’s most material social impact 
is the company’s contribution to improving care for people with diabetes 
and other conditions for which Novo Nordisk provides treatments. In as-
sessing benefi ts for patients, the scope of clinical development programmes 
and the efforts to expand access are measured. Ensuring that an engaging, 
safe workplace that supports innovation is created is another important 
dimension of Novo Nordisk’s social performance. Because it is important 
to retain society’s trust, the degree to which Novo Nordisk refl ects its own 
values and high ethical standards is also measured and managed. The most 
material dimension of the environ mental impact is the energy and water 
used for production and the CO2 emissions from energy consumption. As 

94     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

the business has grown, with sales and pro duction increasing sub stantially, 
the focus is on improving ressource effi ciency and on using alternative 
energy to reduce the environmental impact.

For more information on Novo Nordisk’s voluntary reporting, visit 
annualreport2010.novonordisk.com.

Changes in non-fi nancial accounting policies
In 2010, there were no material changes to the accounting policies for 
non-fi nancial data. 

The following accounting policies were adjusted in 2010:

•  The accounting policy for ‘LDCs where Novo Nordisk sells insulin 

 accord ing to the differential pricing policy’ was previously reported as the 
number of countries. Reporting in terms of a percentage aligns with the 
company target, which is defi ned as a percentage.

•  The accounting policy for ‘Diverse senior management teams’ was 

 previously reported in terms of the number of diverse management 
teams. Reporting in terms of a percentage aligns with the company 
target, which is defi ned as a percentage.

Please refer to the specifi c accounting policies for further information.

The non-fi nancial statement has been reviewed and new disclosures have 
been added to refl ect current priorities and enhance transparency:

•  Donations to the World Diabetes Foundation (DKK million)
•  Donations to the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation (DKK million)
•  Employees trained in business ethics (%)
•  Supplier audits
•  CO2 emissions from transport (1,000 tons)

The review process also resulted in a decision to discontinue reporting on 
the following in the consolidated non-fi nancial statement:

•  Managers trained in business ethics (%)
•  First-line sales managers trained in business ethics (%)
•  Research and development as share of sales 
•  CO2 emissions from energy consumption as share of sales

The two indicators related to business ethics have been replaced by the 
indicator on employees trained in business ethics. The replacement is due to 
a management decision to make business ethics training mandatory for all 
employees – not just managers. Research and development as share of sales 
and CO2 emissions from energy consumption as share of sales have been 
taken out, as they are not used to improve performance.

Principles of non-fi nancial disclosures
The consolidated non-fi nancial statement and disclosures cover Novo 
 Nordisk A/S (the Parent company) and all the companies in which Novo 
 Nordisk A/S directly or indirectly owns more than 50% of the voting 
rights or in some other way has a controlling infl uence (subsidiaries). Novo 
Nordisk A/S and these companies are referred to as the Group.

The environmental disclosures cover the impact from the production of 
Novo Nordisk’s approved products. See accounting policies for details.

Accounting policies
To Novo Nordisk, AA1000APS(2008) is a component in creating a generally 
applicable approach to assessing and strengthening the credibility of the 
company’s public reporting of non-fi nancial data. Novo Nordisk’s assurance 
process has been designed to ensure that the qualitative and quantitative 
information that documents non-fi nancial dimensions of performance as 
well as the systems that underpin the data and performance are assured. 
The principles outlined by AA1000APS(2008) have been applied as 
described below.

1. Inclusivity
As a pharmaceutical company with global reach, Novo Nordisk is commit-
ted to being accountable to those on whom the organisation has an impact 
and those who have an impact on Novo Nordisk. Novo Nordisk con  tinuously 
maps its stakeholders and has processes in place to ensure inclusion of 
stakeholder concerns and expectations. Stakeholder engagement results 
in stakeholders being involved in developing and accounting for strategic 
responses to sustainability challenges.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Materiality
Key issues are identifi ed through ongoing stakeholder engagement and 
trendspotting and are addressed by programmes or action plans with clear 
and measurable targets. Long-term targets are set to guide long-term 
performance in strategic areas. The issues presented in the annual report 
are deemed to have a signifi cant impact on the company’s future business 
performance and may support stakeholders in their decision-making, and 
are therefore regarded as Novo Nordisk’s material issues.

3. Responsiveness
The report reaches out to a wide range of stakeholders, each with their 
 specifi c needs and interests. To most stakeholders, however, the annual 
report is just one element of the interaction and communication with the 
company. The annual report refl ects how the company is managing its 
business in ways that respond to and consider stakeholder concerns and 
interests.

Social performance
Donations to the World Diabetes Foundation
The amount includes donations in DKK paid out by Novo Nordisk to the 
World Diabetes Foundation during the fi scal year.

Donations to the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation
The amount includes donations allocated by Novo Nordisk to the Novo 
Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation during the fi scal year.

Healthcare professionals trained or educated in diabetes
Healthcare professionals trained or educated in diabetes is an estimated 
 accumulated number based on registrations by affi liates and corporate 
functions in Novo Nordisk. The number refl ects the total number of 
healthcare providers  participating in Novo Nordisk-sponsored training and 
education activities since the National Changing Diabetes® programmes 
were initiated in 2002.

People with diabetes trained
People with diabetes trained is an estimated number based on registrations 
by affi liates and corporate functions in Novo Nordisk. The number refl ects 
the total number of people with diabetes with whom Novo Nordisk has 
engaged during the year for educational purposes. Training includes 
 activities conducted, organised or funded by Novo Nordisk. These efforts 
support improvements in self-care and chronic disease management.

Least developed countries where Novo Nordisk sells insulin 
according to the differential pricing policy
Novo Nordisk’s differential pricing policy offers LDCs to buy insulin at or 
below 20% of the average prices for insulin in the western world. The 
western world is  defi ned as Europe (EU, Switzerland and Norway), the US, 
Canada and Japan. The number of LDCs where Novo Nordisk sells insulin 
according to the differential pricing policy is measured by direct or indirect 
sales by Novo Nordisk via government tender or private market sales to 
wholesalers, distributors or non-governmental organisations. For 2009 and 
2010, the UN list included 49 countries. For 2006 to 2008, the list included 
50 countries.

Active patent families
Active patent families is the total number of single inventions covered by at 
least one pending or issued patent in one or more countries.

New patent families (fi rst fi lings)
New patent families (fi rst fi lings) is the number of new patent applications 
that were fi led during the year.

Animals purchased
Animals purchased for studies is the number of animals purchased for all 
testing undertaken for Novo Nordisk either in-house or at external con-
tractors. The number of animals purchased is based on internal registration 
of purchased animals and yearly reports from external contractors.

People participating in clinical trials
The number of people participating in clinical research (phase 1– 4, 
 excluding observational studies) is measured based on active participants in 
clinical research during the year.

Employees
The number of employees at year-end includes all employees except 
externals, employees on unpaid leave, interns, bachelor and master thesis 
employees and substitutes. 

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Employee turnover
The rate of turnover is calculated as the number of employees, excluding 
temporary employees, who left the Group during the fi nancial year 
compared to the average number of employees, excluding temporary 
employees.

Absence
Absence is calculated as absence due to the employee’s own illness, 
 pregnancy-related sick leave and occupational injuries and illnesses per 
working hours in the year, adjusted for holidays.

Frequency of occupational injuries
The frequency of occupational injuries is calculated based on the number 
of injuries reported for all employees per million working hours, excluding 
externals, employees on unpaid leave, interns, bachelor and master thesis 
employees and substitutes. An occupational injury is any work-related injury 
causing at least one day of absence in addition to the day of the injury.

Annual training costs per employee
Training costs are all costs expensed in a specifi c account in the fi nancial 
accounts. The amount covers internal and external training posted in the 
fi nancial accounts.

Engaging culture (employee engagement)
Employee engagement is measured on a scale of 1– 5, with 5 being the best 
score, and is an average of respondents’ answers to 10 selected questions 
related to employees’ engagement in the annual employee survey, eVoice. 
Employee engagement is a simple average of answers given by employees. 
The 10 questions are the same as in the previous years.

Diverse senior management teams
Diversity in senior management teams is measured as the percentage of 
teams that are diverse in terms of both gender and nationality. A senior 
management team includes all managers and executive assistants referring 
directly to an executive vice president/senior vice president.

Employment impact worldwide (direct and indirect jobs)
Employment impact worldwide is an estimate of the direct and indirect 
jobs created by the Group. Calculated using fi nancial records and general 
statistics from public sources such as Statistics Denmark, Updated Economic 
Multipliers for the US Economy (the Economic Policy Institute) and the 
China Statistical Yearbook, it refl ects part of the company’s socio-economic 
impact.

Company reputation
Company reputation is measured as a mean corporate brand score in four 
key markets (China, Germany, the UK and the US) based on feedback from 
primary care physicians and secondary care physicians. The survey is per-
formed by an independent external consultancy fi rm. The mean corporate 
brand score is based on company ratings (scale 0 –100) collected through 
individual online interviews with primary and secondary care professionals 
(target groups). In China the survey is conducted via face-to-face interviews. 

Employees trained in business ethics
The percentage of employees trained in business ethics covers all employees 
in Novo Nordisk except employees on leave and is based on regi strations in 
training databases and local archives of employees completing the annual 
business ethics training. 

Warning letters and re-inspections
Warning letters and re-inspections is measured as the number of warning 
letters issued by the US Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) in connection 
with GxP-regulated and ISO9000-certifi ed areas and the number of 
re-inspections issued to Novo Nordisk by any health authority globally. 
Warning letters issued by the FDA regarding promotional materials are 
also included.

Fulfi lment of action points from facilitations of the Novo Nordisk Way of 
Management
The percentage of fulfi lment of action points arising from facilitations 
with respect to the Novo Nordisk Way is measured as an average of timely 
closure of action points issued in the current year and the two previous 
years. Timely closure of action points relates to the company’s adherence 
to the Novo Nordisk Way. The reason for using a three-year average as 
the basis for the calculation is that action lead time typically varies from a 
couple of months to more than a year.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     95

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Supplier audits
The number of supplier audits performed includes responsible sourcing 
audits and quality audits conducted in the areas of direct spend materials, 
indirect spend materials and suppliers to the research and development 
organisation. Contract and licence manu facturers are not included.

2   Donations to the World Diabetes Foundation and 
     the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation

The World Diabetes Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Founda-
tion are non-profi t organisations receiving donations from Novo Nordisk.

Environmental performance
Energy consumption
Energy consumption (direct and indirect supply) includes both direct supply 
of energy (internally produced energy), ie energy Novo Nordisk produces 
from natural gas, fuel oil and other types, and indirect supply of external 
energy (externally produced energy), eg electricity, steam and district heat. 
The consumption of fuel and externally produced energy is based on meter 
readings and invoices.

Water consumption
Water consumption is based on meter readings and invoices and includes 
drinking water, industrial water and steam.

Raw materials and packaging materials
The consumption of raw and packaging materials used for production, 
related processes and packaging is converted to tons. 

CO2 emissions from energy consumption
The amount of CO2 emissions from energy consumption covers consump-
tion related to production. The CO2 emissions from energy consumption are 
calculated according to the GHG protocol. Emissions of CO2 from energy 
consumption are based on standard factors for fuel and for energy on a 
three-year average of available emission factors from the external suppliers 
of energy. Hence, emission factors for 2010 are the three-year average of 
2007 to 2009. 

CO2 emissions from refrigerants
CO2 emissions from refrigerants are calculated based on standard factors.

CO2 emissions from transport
CO2 emissions from transport include emissions from worldwide distribu-
tion of semi-fi nished, fi nished products, raw materials and components by 
air, sea and road between production sites and from production sites to 
affi liates, direct customers and importing distributors. CO2 emissions from 
product distribution from affi liates to pharmacies, hospitals and wholesalers 
are not included. 

Wastewater
The volume of wastewater includes process wastewater, sanitary waste-
water and drainage water from fortifi ed areas. The total volume of waste-
water is calculated based on input from the production sites either as a 
direct measure of the total sum discharged to public sewer systems or as 
the total consumption of the site minus registered evaporation from cooling 
systems (including cooling towers and other plants from which evapora-
tion occurs) and any large amount of wastewater collected and treated as 
waste.

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) in wastewater
COD is a measure of the amount of pollutants in the water and is calculated 
based on in-house test results or standard factors.

Total waste
Total waste is measured as the sum of non-hazardous and hazardous waste. 
The amount of waste disposed of is registered based on weight receipts.

Non-hazardous waste
The percentage of non-hazardous waste is calculated as the waste disposed 
of as non-hazardous of the total amount of waste disposed.

Breaches of regulatory limit values
Breaches of regulatory limit values are measured as all breaches reported to 
the authorities.

In 2010 Novo Nordisk donated DKK 69 million to the World Diabetes 
Foundation, supporting more than 200 projects covering 96 countries in the 
developing world to expand access to diabetes treatment and care.

The Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation’s objective is to increase treat-
ment and care in developing countries. In 2010, Novo Nordisk donated 
DKK 15 million to the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation supporting 
more than 30 projects covering 25 countries.

DKK million 

2010 

2009 

2008

World Diabetes Foundation 
Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation 

Total 

69 
15 

84 

68 
15 

83 

68
10

78

3   Impact on health

A measure of the company’s contribution to global health is the number 
of healthcare professionals trained, educated, interacted with or reached 
through awareness campaigns, and the number of people with diabetes 
reached through training or awareness programmes. The aim is to continue 
activities to educate healthcare professionals to improve diagnosis and 
treatment and to train people with diabetes to improve self-care.

Since 2002, 1,178,000 healthcare professionals have been trained, educat-
ed, interacted with or reached through awareness campaigns. The number 
of people with diabetes trained was 494,000 in 2010 compared to 416,000 
in 2009, which is an increase of 19% due to more activities.

Through the company’s differential pricing policy, the world’s 49 least 
 developed countries (LDCs) are offered insulin at or below a price of 20% 
of the average prices for insulin in the western world. The western world 
is  defi ned as Europe (EU, Switzerland and Norway), the US, Canada and 
Japan.

The differential pricing policy is part of the global initiatives to promote 
access to health to all LDCs as defi ned by the UN. In 2010 Novo Nordisk 
 offered the differential price to all of the 49 LDCs, of which Novo Nordisk 
operates in 34 countries and sold insulin to either governments or the 
private market in 67% (33 countries) of the countries according to the 
differential pricing policy compared to 73% (36 countries) of the countries 
in 2009. In 2010, Novo Nordisk operated in the Lao People’s Democratic 
Republic but did not sell insulin at the dif ferential policy price. The govern-
ment in Lao was offered to buy insulin at the differential price. The insulin 
sold in 2010 in Lao was to the private market. 

In a total of 15 LDCs Novo Nordisk had no sales in 2010 for  various reasons. 
In several cases, either the government has not responded to the offer, 
there are no private wholesalers or other partners to work with, or wars or 
political unrest make it impossible to do business. While Novo Nordisk pre-
fers to sell insulin at the differential price through government tenders, the 
company is willing to sell to private distributors and agents. Novo Nordisk 
is unable to guarantee that the price at which the company sells the insulin 
will be refl ected in the fi nal price to the consumer.

96     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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4   Patent families

The number of Novo Nordisk patent families decreased by 10% from 905 in 2009 to 817 in 2010. The decrease is a result of a focused patent policy according 
to which only patents of signifi cant business interest are continued. The number of new patent families established in 2010 was 62, which is an increase of 
13% compared to the fi ling activity of 2009, when 55 new patent families were established. The increased fi ling activity is attributed to the continued increase 
in research and development spend.

The patent expiry dates for the product portfolio are shown in the table below. The dates provided are for expiry of patents in the US, Japan, China and major 
 European markets 1) on the active ingredient, unless otherwise indicated, and include extensions of patent term (including for paediatric extension where 
 applicable). In many cases Novo Nordisk has exclusivity beyond the expiry of the active ingredient patent through later-expiring patents. For several products, 
in addition to the compound patent, Novo Nordisk holds other patents on manufacturing processes, formulations or uses that may extend exclusivity 
beyond the expiration of the active ingredient patent. Furthermore, data-based exclusivity may be available under pharmaceutical regulatory laws.

Marketed products in key markets (active ingredients)

Product 

Levemir ® 
NovoRapid ® (NovoLog ®) 
NovoMix ® 30 (NovoLog ® Mix 70/30) 
NovoNorm® (Prandin®) 
PrandiMet ® 
Norditropin® (Norditropin® SimpleXx ®) 
NovoSeven® 
Victoza® 

Europe  

US  

Japan  

China

2018  
2011 2) 
2014 –15 3) 
Expired 6) 
Pending  

2017 4) 
2010 –11 3) 

2022  

2019  
2014 2) 
2014  
Expired  

2018 5) 
2015 4) 

Expired  
2022  

2019  
Expired 2) 
2014  
2011 7) 

Pending  

2017 4) 

Expired  
2022  

2014
Expired 2)
Expired
Expired
N/A
2017 4)

Expired
2017

1) Major European markets are defi ned as Germany, France and the UK. 
2) Formulation patent expires in 2017. 
3) Exact date varies from country to country. 
4) Formulation patent. 

5) Combination patent.
6) Enantiomer use patent expires in 2011, extended to 2013 in certain countries.
7) Possibly extendable by fi ve years.

5   Animals purchased

Novo Nordisk continuously works towards reducing, refi ning and replac-
ing experiments on animals and to improve animal welfare. The number of 
animals purchased in 2010 increased by 10% compared to 2009 and 96% 
of animals purchased in 2010 were rodents. The increase in rodents is due 
to increases in the number of biopharmaceutical studies, where rodents 
are most suitable. The increase in purchased dogs is due to an increased 
number of diabetes studies in this species.

Number 

Mice and rats 
Guinea pigs 
Hamsters 
Rabbits 
Pigs 
Dogs  
Goats 
Non-human primates 
Other vertebrates 1) 

2010 

2009 

2008

60,441 
74 
12 
543 
1,196 
328 
1 
330 
2 

54,714 
84 
6 
559 
1,170 
240 
2 
540 
0 

54,484
150
16
770
808
276
6
593
150

Total 

62,927 

57,315 

57,253

1)  Other vertebrates are lamas, fi sh, chickens and frogs.

6   People participating in clinical trials

The number of people participating in clinical interventional trials increased 
by 74% from 11,130 in 2009 to 19,361 in 2010. The substantial increase 
was due to the initiation of the phase 3a programme on Degludec 1) (insulin 
degludec) and DegludecPlus 2) (insulin degludec/insulin aspart).

1)  Internal designation for insulin degludec
2)  Internal designation for insulin degludec/insulin aspart

7   Employees

Number 

Employees by gender
– Female 
– Male 

2010 

2009 

2008

15,100 
15,383 

14,514 
14,815 

13,432
13,636

Total number of employees 

30,483 

29,329 

27,068

Year-end number of full-time 
equivalents (FTEs) 

30,014 

28,809 

26,575

In 2010 the number of employees increased by 1,154 (4%) compared to 
an increase of 2,261 (8%) in 2009. The increase refl ects increased activities 
in most  business areas, particularly Operations and Research and Develop-
ment. Regionally, the largest increase in employees was in North America 
and International Operations.

The rate of employee turnover increased from 8.3 in 2009 to 9.1 in 2010. 
The increase was primarily in International Operations and is deemed 
 acceptable. Overall the increase can be attributed to the gradual recovery 
of the global economy. 

The annual training costs per employee increased by 7%, with a spend of 
DKK 14,207 in 2010 compared to DKK 13,283 in 2009, refl ecting the 
 company’s strategic prioritisation of talent and leadership development, and 
of lifelong learning offered to all employees. 

Diversity in the company’s senior management teams increased from 50% 
(14 teams) of the 28 teams in 2009 to 54% (15 teams) in 2010. 

In the annual eVoice survey measuring employee engagement, the response 
rate was 92%. The engagement rate remained high at 4.3 in 2010 as in 
2009. Below are additional key questions and scores from the eVoice survey 
that reconfi rm the strong adherence to the company’s values and priorities.

Living our values

Scale 1– 5 

2010 

2009 

2008

Importance of social and environmental 
issues for the future of the company 
Manager’s behaviour consistent with 
Novo Nordisk’s values 

4.5 

4.4 

4.5 

4.4 

4.5

4.3

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     97

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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8   Health and safety

In 2010, there were no fatal occupational injuries and Novo Nordisk has not had any fatal occupational injuries since 2004.

The rate of absence decreased in 2010 to 2.4% from 2.6% in 2009. The decrease is explained by fewer days of absence due to illness compared to 2009. 
The frequency of occupational injuries increased from 4.3 in 2009 to 4.9 in 2010. The increase is due to more occupational injuries with absence both at 
production sites and in affi liates.

By the end of 2010, the Novo Nordisk Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) Management System globally covered research and development, production 
facilities and  headquarters. 

9   Socio-economics

In 2010, Novo Nordisk created 1,154 new positions globally and had 30,014 full-time positions, measured as full-time equivalents (FTEs). This compares to 
2,261 new positions created in 2009 with 28,809 FTEs. The number of jobs in 2010 translates into 108,248 direct and indirect jobs. Of these, 78,218 indirect 
global jobs are created in the supply chain from production needs and employees’ private consumption. The majority of indirect jobs created are due to 
production (54,648), but the effect of private consumption by Novo Nordisk employees is also signifi cant (23,570). In 2009, the total number of direct and 
indirect jobs created was 96,468.

Cash value distribution 

DKK million 

Cash 
received 

Cash
added value

2010
Customers 
Suppliers 

Company cash 
Employees 
Investors/funders 
Public sector 
Management 

2009
Customers 
Suppliers 

Company cash 
Employees 
Investors/funders 
Public sector 
Management 

2008
Customers 
Suppliers 

Company cash 
Employees 
Investors/funders 
Public sector 
Management 

Cash received from products and services (from sales) 
Cash payments for materials, facilities and services 1) 

Cash added value (cash received minus cash payments) 
Remuneration 
Dividend, share repurchase and interest payments 
Taxes 
Future growth 

Cash received from products and services (from sales) 
Cash payments for materials, facilities and services 1) 

Cash added value (cash received minus cash payments) 
Remuneration 
Dividend, share repurchase and interest payments 
Taxes 
Future growth 

Cash received from products and services (from sales) 
Cash payments for materials, facilities and services 1) 

Cash added value (cash received minus cash payments) 
Remuneration 
Dividend, share repurchase and interest payments 
Taxes 
Future growth 

59,339 
22,781 

36,558 
18,522 
13,720 
3,436 
880 

50,596  
20,386  

30,210  
15,496  
10,429  
1,998  
2,287  

45,064  
16,151  

28,913  
14,141  
7,617  
3,172  
3,983  

100% 
38% 

31% 
23% 
6% 
2% 

100% 
40% 

31% 
21% 
4% 
4% 

100% 
36% 

31% 
17% 
7% 
9% 

100%
51%
38%
9%
2%

100%
51%
34%
7%
8%

100%
49%
26%
11%
14%

1)  Fixed assets and cash payments outside Novo Nordisk. The fi gure includes cash received from licence fees, realised exchange rate gains and interest income.

10   Company reputation

12   Quality

Company reputation, measured as the mean brand score, remained stable 
with a small decrease of 0.2 points from 76.3 in 2009 to 76.1 (on a scale of 
0 –100) in 2010. 

11   Business ethics training

In 2010, 98% of all employees were trained in business ethics upon the 
release of the updated Standard Operating Procedures. The scope of the 
business ethics training includes all employees present in Novo Nordisk 
by the time of the new releases. The training is conducted annually. This 
 disclosure is reported for the fi rst time this year, hence no historical data 
exists.

In 2010, as in 2009, no warning letters were issued to Novo Nordisk by the 
FDA in connection with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), GCP (Good 
Clinical Practice) or GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) inspections. Nor were 
any re-inspections issued to Novo Nordisk. In total, 105 inspections were 
concluded in 2010, which is an increase of 36% compared to 2009, when 
77 inspections were concluded. The increase is attributed to an increased 
number of GMP and GCP inspections. More GMP inspections were con-
ducted, partly due to increased activities by the Danish Medicines Agency 
to overcome a backlog situation and partly due to a more diverse supply 
strategy. GCP inspections increased due to changes in reporting.

98     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13   Fulfi lment of action points from facilitations 
       of the Novo Nordisk Way of Management

In 2010, 93% of all action points, based on a three-year average, were 
closed in a timely manner, which is consistent with 2009.

19   Wastewater

The total volume of wastewater decreased by 6% from 2,062,000 m 3 
in 2009 to 1,935,000 m 3 in 2010, primarily due to changes in the diabetes 
care production. In the same period, the discharged quantity of COD de-
creased by 10% from 617 tons in 2009 to 555 tons in 2010. 

14   Supplier audits

20   Waste

In 2010, the total amount of waste decreased by 2% from 21,019 tons 
in 2009 to 20,565 tons in 2010. This was due to a 12% decrease in the 
quantity of hazardous waste. The volume of non-hazardous waste was 
68% of total waste, representing an increase of 4%, whereas the recycling 
percentage of total waste remained stable compared to 2009.

Tons 

Non-hazardous waste 
– Recycled (%) 
– Incinerated (%) 1) 
– Landfi ll (%) 
– Special treatment (%) 
Hazardous waste 
– Recycled ethanol (%) 2) 
– Incinerated ethanol (%) 3) 
– Other (%) 

2010 

2009 

2008

13,911 
53 
20 
7 
20 
6,654 
44 
15 
41 

13,432 
57 
21 
5 
17 
7,587 
40 
21 
39 

14,240
57
20
6
17
6,106
38
19
43

Total waste 

20,565 

21,019 

20,346

Recycling percentage of total waste 

50 

51 

51

1)  99% with energy recovery.
2)  Ethanol recycled in eg biogas or wastewater treatment plants.
3)  Incinerated at combined heat and power plants or at plants for special treatment of 

hazardous waste with energy recovery.

21   Breaches of regulatory limit values

Ensuring compliance with legal environmental requirements is a high 
 priority for Novo Nordisk. The number of breaches of regulatory limit values 
increased from 10 in 2009 to 18 in 2010, an increase of 80% due to 
different types of breaches eg noise, smell and wastewater components.

In 2010, a total of 192 audits were conducted among suppliers, compared 
to 196 in 2009. Audits are categorised as either ‘Responsible sourcing 
audits’ or ‘Quality sourcing audits’.

Number 

2010 

2009 

2008

Responsible sourcing audits 
Quality sourcing audits 

Total number of audits 

26 
166 

192 

20 
176 

196 

31
130

161

The supplier audits in 2010 resulted in 539 non-conformities and follow-up 
actions were performed according to procedures.

15   Energy

In 2010, the consumption of energy was 2,234,000 GJ, which is a small 
decrease (0.5%) compared to 2,246,000 GJ in 2009. Reductions at the 
production sites outweigh increases in other areas, such as the research and 
development site in Denmark.

16   Water

The consumption of water decreased by 5% from 2,149,000 m 3 in 2009 to 
2,047,000 m 3 in 2010. The decrease was mainly due to water saving efforts 
in diabetes care production.

17   Raw materials and packaging materials

The consumption of raw materials decreased by 18% from 79,000 tons in 
2009 to 65,000 tons in 2010. The decrease was mainly due to optimisations 
in insulin bulk production in Kalundborg.

18   CO2 emissions

In 1,000 tons 

2010 

2009 

2008

CO2 emissions from energy consumption  
CO2 emissions from refrigerants  
CO2 emissions from transport  

Total CO2 emissions  

95 
6  
57  

158  

146 
6 
N/A 

215
N/A
N/A

The CO2 emissions from energy consumption related to production de-
creased by 35% from 146,000 tons in 2009 to 95,000 tons in 2010, mainly 
due to the agreement with DONG Energy on receiving certifi cates from 
the offshore wind turbine park Horns Rev 2 in Denmark, which started 
operating in 2009. In 2010, the wind turbines were in production the whole 
year.

The CO2 emissions from refrigerants remained stable at 6,000 tons in 2010 
as in 2009. Novo Nordisk continues focusing on eliminating refrigerants 
with a high CO2 potential and continuing to improve good operations and 
maintenance practice for the cooling systems.

The CO2 emissions from transport in relation to distribution of products are 
reported for the fi rst time this year, hence no historical data exists. 

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Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     99

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Summary of fi nancial data 2006 –2010 in EUR

EUR million 

Sales 

Sales by business segment:
    Modern insulins (insulin analogues) 
    Human insulins 
    Victoza® 
    Protein-related products 
    Oral antidiabetic products (OAD) 

    Diabetes care total 

    NovoSeven®  
    Norditropin® 
    Hormone replacement therapy 
    Other products 

    Biopharmaceuticals total 

Sales by geographical segment:
    North America 
    Europe 
    International Operations 1) 
    – of which Region China 
    Japan & Korea 1) 

Depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses 
Operating profi t 
Net fi nancials  
Profi t before income taxes 
Income taxes 
Net profi t 

Total assets 
Total current liabilities 
Total non-current liabilities 
Equity 

Capital expenditure 
Free cash fl ow 2) 
Net cash fl ow 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010

5,194 

5,614 

6,109 

6,860 

8,161

1,451 
1,804 
– 
215 
266 

3,736 

755 
444 
215 
44 

1,880 
1,687 
– 
235 
288 

4,090 

788 
471 
224 
41 

2,323 
1,583 
– 
247 
321 

4,474 

858 
518 
216 
43 

2,883 
1,520 
12 
265 
356 

5,036 

950 
591 
234 
49 

1,458 

1,524 

1,635 

1,824 

1,646 
2,051 
871 
208 
626 

287 
1,223 
6 
1,229 
364 
865 

5,994 
1,362 
592 
4,040 

374 
631 
62 

1,845 
2,194 
979 
271 
596 

404 
1,200 
272 
1,472 
328 
1,144 

6,401 
1,427 
658 
4,316 

304 
1,210 
220 

2,032 
2,309 
1,130 
353 
638 

328 
1,660 
43 
1,703 
409 
1,294 

6,792 
1,739 
627 
4,426 

235 
1,478 
552 

2,454 
2,356 
1,393 
476 
657 

343 
2,005 
(126) 
1,879 
433 
1,446 

7,356 
1,802 
752 
4,802 

353 
1,656 
307 

3,572
1,588
311
297
369

6,137

1,078
645
254
47

2,024

3,170
2,506
1,725
606
760

331
2,537
(82)
2,455
521
1,934

8,237
2,521
757
4,959

444
2,284
118

1)  As of 1 January 2010 Korea joined Japan to form Region Japan & Korea while Australia and New Zealand became part of Region International Operations. 

Comparatives for 2006 –2009 have been restated and are comparable to the 2010 regional set-up.

2)  For defi nitions, please refer to p 92.

Key fi gures are translated into EUR as supplementary information – the translation of Income statement items is based on the average exchange rate in 2010 (EUR 1 = DKK 7.4472) 
and the translation of Balance sheet items is based on the exchange rate at the end of 2010 (EUR 1 = DKK 7.4544). The fi gures in DKK refl ect the economic substance of the 
underlying events and circumstances of the Group.

100     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
)

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Quarterly fi nancial fi gures 2009 and 2010

DKK million 

Sales 

Sales by business segment:
    Modern insulins (insulin analogues) 
    Human insulins  
    Victoza® 
    Protein-related products 
    Oral antidiabetic products (OAD) 

    Diabetes care total 

    NovoSeven®  
    Norditropin® 
    Hormone replacement therapy 
    Other products 

    Biopharmaceuticals total 

Sales by geographical segment:
    North America 
    Europe  
    International Operations 1) 
    – of which Region China 
    Japan & Korea 1) 

Gross profi t 
Sales and distribution costs 
Research and development costs 
Administrative expenses 
Licence fees and other operating income (net) 
Operating profi t 
Net fi nancials 
Profi t before income taxes 
Income taxes 

  2009 

  2010

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

Q4

12,498 

13,001 

12,517 

13,062 

13,674 

15,394 

15,584 

16,124

4,990 
3,004 
– 
484 
691 

5,414 
2,879 
– 
492 
675 

5,353 
2,747 
28 
491 
650 

5,714 
2,685 
59 
510 
636 

5,862 
2,773 
370 
503 
645 

6,792 
3,099 
296 
583 
704 

6,820 
2,963 
700 
567 
736 

7,127
2,992
951
561
666

9,169 

9,460 

9,269 

9,604 

10,153 

11,474 

11,786 

12,297

1,805 
1,034 
409 
81 

1,874 
1,122 
435 
110 

1,651 
1,074 
440 
83 

1,742 
1,171 
460 
85 

1,914 
1,083 
443 
81 

2,155 
1,245 
450 
70 

1,965 
1,233 
517 
83 

1,996
1,242
482
107

3,329 

3,541 

3,248 

3,458 

3,521 

3,920 

3,798 

3,827

4,532 
4,195 
2,607 
923 
1,164 

9,990 
3,844 
1,744 
679 
87 
3,810 
(305) 
3,505 
806 

4,710 
4,375 
2,661 
854 
1,255 

10,391 
3,837 
1,849 
693 
78 
4,090 
(206) 
3,884 
893 

4,527 
4,376 
2,447 
876 
1,167 

9,832 
3,502 
1,884 
666 
34 
3,814 
(207) 
3,607 
852 

4,510 
4,594 
2,656 
883 
1,302 

10,427 
4,237 
2,387 
726 
142 
3,219 
(227) 
2,992 
669 

5,221 
4,432 
2,865 
1,030 
1,156 

10,984 
3,984 
2,131 
711 
224 
4,382 
(65) 
4,317 
993 

5,988 
4,671 
3,296 
1,083 
1,439 

12,425 
4,364 
2,434 
745 
159 
5,041 
(433) 
4,608 
1,060 

6,114 
4,675 
3,341 
1,214 
1,454 

12,648 
4,573 
2,302 
759 
110 
5,124 
(468) 
4,656 
1,071 

6,286
4,886
3,341
1,181
1,611

13,039
5,274
2,735
850
164
4,344
361
4,705
759

Net profi t 

2,699 

2,991 

2,755 

2,323 

3,324 

3,548 

3,585 

3,946

Depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses 

607 

533 

657 

754 

581 

595 

607 

684

Total assets 
Total equity 

Financial ratios

In percentage of sales
    Sales and distribution costs 
    Research and development costs 
    Administrative expenses  
Gross margin 2) 
Operating profi t margin 2) 
Equity ratio 2) 

Share ratios

50,205 
31,345 

51,246 
34,086 

52,589 
34,874 

54,742 
35,734 

54,155 
32,916 

57,048 
33,635 

57,162 
34,264 

61,402
36,965

30.8% 
14.0% 
5.4% 
79.9% 
30.5% 
62.4% 

29.5% 
14.2% 
5.3% 
79.9% 
31.5% 
66.5% 

28.0% 
15.1% 
5.3% 
78.5% 
30.5% 
66.3% 

32.4% 
18.3% 
5.6% 
79.8% 
24.6% 
65.3% 

29.1% 
15.6% 
5.2% 
80.3% 
32.0% 
60.8% 

28.3% 
15.8% 
4.8% 
80.7% 
32.7% 
59.0% 

29.3% 
14.8% 
4.9% 
81.2% 
32.9% 
59.9% 

32.7%
17.0%
5.3%
80.9%
26.9%
60.2%

Basic earnings per share/ADR (in DKK) 
Diluted earnings per share/ADR (in DKK) 

4.44 
4.41 

4.96 
4.91 

4.62 
4.58 

3.95 
3.92 

5.66 
5.61 

6.07 
6.02 

6.21 
6.15 

6.87
6.82

Average number of shares outstanding (million) – basic 
Average number of shares outstanding (million) – diluted  

607.4 
612.7 

603.1 
607.9 

596.4 
601.4 

589.9 
595.2 

587.6 
593.0 

584.0 
588.9 

577.6 
582.3 

572.7
577.5

Employees

Number of full-time employees at the end of the period 

27,429 

27,998 

28,497 

28,809 

29,154 

29,364 

29,515 

30,014

1)  As of 1 January 2010 Korea joined Japan to form Region Japan & Korea while Australia and New Zealand became part of Region International Operations. 

Comparatives for Q1– Q4 2009 have been restated and are comparable to the 2010 regional set-up.

2)  For defi nitions, please refer to p 92.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     101

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Financial
statements
of the Parent
company
for 2010

103  Income statement
104  Balance sheet
105  Notes to the fi nancial statements

102     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
Income statement for the year ended 31 December

DKK million 

Sales  
Cost of goods sold 

Gross profi t 

Sales and distribution costs 
Research and development costs 
Administrative expenses 
Licence fees and other operating income (net) 

Operating profi t 

Profi t in subsidiaries, net of tax 
Share of profi t in associated companies, net of tax 
Financial income 
Financial expenses 

Profi t before income taxes 

Income taxes 

Net profi t for the year 

Proposed appropriation of net profi t:
Dividends 
Net revaluation reserve according to the equity method 
Retained earnings 

Note 

2 
3 

3 
3 
3, 4 

10 
10 
5 
5 

6 

9, 10 

2010 

2009

37,261 
11,609 

27,834
9,155

25,652 

18,679

10,196 
7,998 
1,385 
691 

6,764 

9,475 
1,089 
437 
1,884 

6,932
6,739
1,229
433

4,212

8,170
(55)
381
1,087

15,881 

11,621

1,466 

857

14,415 

10,764

5,700 
1,573 
7,142 

4,400
5,751
613

14,415 

10,764

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Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     103

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Balance sheet at 31 December

DKK million 

Assets

Intangible assets 
Property, plant and equipment 
Financial assets 

Total non-current assets 

Raw materials and consumables 
Work in progress 
Finished goods 

Inventories 

Trade receivables 
Amounts owed by affi liates 
Tax receivables  
Other receivables 

Receivables 

Marketable securities and fi nancial instruments 

Cash at bank and in hand 

Total current assets 

Total assets 

Equity and liabilities

Share capital 
Net revaluation reserve according to the equity method 
Retained earnings 

Total equity 

Deferred income tax liabilities 
Other provisions 

Total provisions 

Mortgage debt 
Other non-current debt 

Non-current liabilities 

Current debt and fi nancial instruments 
Trade payables 
Amounts owed to affi liates 
Tax payables 
Other current liabilities 

Current liabilities 

Total liabilities 

Total equity and liabilities 

104     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

Note 

2010 

2009

7 
8 
10 

9 

12 
13 

11 

1,083 
14,418 
19,314 

781
14,381
17,400

34,815 

32,562

1,231 
4,896 
1,551 

7,678 

1,388 
6,748 
518 
879 

9,533 

1,100
6,509
1,492

9,101

1,081
3,889
464
623

6,057

3,980 

1,528

11,418 

10,625

32,609 

27,311

67,424 

59,873

600 
9,791 
26,565 

620
22,415
12,670

36,956 

35,705

204 
561 

765 

504 
– 

504 

1,669 
1,479 
23,186 
– 
2,865 

880
566

1,446

503
467

970

306
1,188
17,454
1
2,803

29,199 

21,752

29,703 

22,722

67,424 

59,873

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
Notes to the fi nancial statements

1   Accounting policies

The Financial statements of the Parent company have been prepared in 
accordance with the Danish Financial Statements Act (Class D) and other 
accounting regulations for companies listed on NASDAQ OMX Copen-
hagen. 

The accounting policies for the Financial statements of the Parent company 
are unchanged compared to last fi nancial year and are the same as for 
the Consolidated fi nancial statements with the following additions. For a 
description of the accounting policies of the Group, please refer to note 1 
Basis of preparation of the consolidated fi nancial statements, pp 62– 66.

Supplementary accounting policies for the Parent company

Financial assets
In the fi nancial statements of the Parent company, Investments in sub-
sidiaries and associated companies are recorded under the equity method, 
which is at the respective share of the net asset values in subsidiaries and 
associated companies. Any cost in excess of net assets in the acquired 
company is capitalised in the Parent company under Financial assets as 
part of investments in subsidiaries (‘Goodwill’). Amortisation of goodwill is 
 provided under the straight-line method over a period not exceeding 
20 years based on estimated useful life. 

Net profi t of subsidiaries less unrealised intra-Group profi ts is recorded in 
the Income statement of the Parent company.

To the extent it exceeds declared dividends from such companies, net 
revaluation of investments in subsidiaries and associated companies is trans-
ferred to net revaluation reserve according to the equity method under 
equity.

Fair value adjustments of fi nancial assets categorised as ‘Available for sale’ 
are recognised in the Parent company in the Income statement.

The profi ts in subsidiaries and associated companies are disclosed as profi t 
after tax.

Tax
For Danish tax purposes, the Parent company is assessed jointly with its 
Danish subsidiaries. The Danish jointly-taxed companies are included in a 
Danish on-account tax payment scheme for Danish corporate income tax. 
All current taxes under the scheme are recorded in the individual com-
panies.

Cash fl ow statement
No separate cash fl ow statement has been prepared for the Parent company 
– please refer to the Consolidated statement of cash fl ow on p 60.

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3   Employee costs

DKK million 

Wages and salaries 
Share-based payment costs 
Pensions 
Other contributions to social security 
Other employee costs 

Total employee costs 

2010 

2009

5,730 
637 
576 
155 
250 

6,106
121
541
144
275

7,348 

7,187

Included in the Balance sheet as change 
in employee costs included in inventories 

(276) 

90

For information regarding remuneration to the Board of Directors and 
Executive Management, please refer to the ‘Remuneration report’ in section 
Corporate governance, remuneration and leadership, pp 46 – 49 and the 
Consolidated fi nancial statements note 4, p 69.

Average number of full-time 
employees in Novo Nordisk A/S 

4   Fee to statutory auditors

DKK million 

Statutory audit 
Audit-related services 
Tax advisory services 
Other services 

2010 

2009

11,052 

10,910

2010 

2009

8 
4 
7 
– 

8
1
6
2

Total fee to statutory auditors 

19 

17

5   Financial income and fi nancial expenses

DKK million 

2010 

2009

Interest income relating to subsidiaries 
Foreign exchange gain (net) 
Other fi nancial income 

Total fi nancial income 

Interest expenses relating to subsidiaries  
Foreign exchange loss (net)  
Other fi nancial expenses 

14 
206 
217 

437 

122 
– 
1,762 

24
–
357

381

157
57
873

Total fi nancial expenses 

1,884 

1,087

2   Sales

DKK million 

Sales by business segment 1)
Diabetes care total 
Biopharmaceuticals total 

Total sales 

Sales by geographical segment 1)
Europe 
North America 
International Operations 
– of which Region China 
Japan & Korea 

Total sales 

2010 

2009

36,943 
318 

27,513
321

37,261 

27,834

6   Income taxes

The Parent company paid income taxes of DKK 1,838 million related to the 
current year (DKK 1,370 million in 2009). 

12,134 
13,373 
8,892 
3,191 
2,862 

10,603
7,013
6,917
2,590
3,301

37,261 

27,834

Sales are attributed to geographical segment based on location of the 
customer.

1)  For defi nitions of the segments, please refer to the Consolidated fi nancial state-

ments, note 2, pp 67– 68.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     105

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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7   Intangible assets

DKK million 

Cost at the beginning of the year 
Additions during the year 
Disposals during the year 

Cost at the end of the year 

Amortisation at the beginning of the year 
Amortisation during the year 
Impairment losses for the year 
Amortisation reversed on disposals during the year 

Amortisation at the end of the year 

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

8   Property, plant and equipment

DKK million 

Cost at the beginning of the year 
Additions during the year 
Disposals during the year 
Transfer from/(to) other items 

Goodwill 

Patents and 
licences 

Other 
intangible 
assets 

51 

51 

51 

51 

– 

819 
148 
(42) 

925 

232 
29 

261 

664 

461 
257 

718 

267 
32 

299 

419 

2010 
Total 

1,331 
405 
(42) 

1,694 

550 
61 
– 
– 

611 

1,083 

2009
Total

1,033
346
(48)

1,331

490
49
59
(48)

550

781

Land and 
buildings 

Plant and 
machinery 

Other 
equipment 

Payments 
on account 
and assets 
in course of 
construction 

2010 
Total 

2009
Total

9,689 
112 
(13) 
351 

13,811 
317 
(783) 
705 

1,770 
64 
(47) 
46 

2,036 
1,405 

(1,102) 

27,306 
1,898 
(843) 
0 

25,761
1,722
(177)
0

Cost at the end of the year 

10,139 

14,050 

1,833 

2,339 

28,361 

27,306

Depreciation and impairment losses at the beginning of the year 
Depreciation for the year 
Impairment losses for the year 
Depreciation reversed on disposals during the year 

3,424 
412 
37 
(10) 

8,407 
1,112 
30 
(675) 

1,094 
155 
1 
(44) 

– 

12,925 
1,679 
68 
(729) 

11,249
1,648
168
(140)

Depreciation and impairment losses at the end of the year 

3,863 

8,874 

1,206 

– 

13,943 

12,925

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

6,276 

5,176 

627 

2,339 

14,418 

14,381

106     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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9   Statement of changes in equity

DKK million 

Balance at the beginning of the year 
Adjustment to beginning balance 1) 
Appropriated from net profi t for the year 
Proposed dividends 
Appropriated from net profi t for the year to net revaluation reserve  
Effect of hedged forecast transactions transferred to the Income statement 
Fair value adjustments for the year on cash fl ow hedges 
Dividends paid 
Share-based payments 
Purchase of treasury shares 
Sale of treasury shares 
Reduction of the B share capital 
Exchange rate adjustment of investments in subsidiaries  
Other adjustments 

Share 
capital 

620 

Net 
revaluation 
reserve 

22,415 
(14,139) 

1,573 

(20) 

300 

Retained 
earnings 

2010 
Total 

2009
Total

12,670 
14,139 
7,142 
5,700 
– 
(422) 
(635) 
(4,400) 
463 
(9,498) 
678 
20 

350 

35,705 
0 
7,142 
5,700 
1,573 
(422) 
(635) 
(4,400) 
463 
(9,498) 
678 
0 
300 
350 

32,954
0
613
4,400
5,751
900
352
(3,650)
259
(6,512)
117
0
523
(2)

Balance at the end of the year 

600 

10,149 

26,207 

36,956 

35,705

1)  Transfer of unrealised internal profi t from previous years from net revaluation reserve to retained earnings.

Regarding average number of shares, please refer to the Consolidated fi nancial statements, note 10, p 70.
Regarding total number of A and B shares in Novo Nordisk A/S and treasury shares, please refer to the Consolidated fi nancial statements, note 18, p 76.

10   Financial assets

DKK million 

Cost at the beginning of the year 
Investments during the year 
Divestments during the year 
Transferred from associated companies to Other securities 

Cost at the end of the year 

Value adjustments at the beginning of the year 
Profi t/(loss) before tax 
Income taxes on profi t for the year 
Amortisation and impairment of goodwill 
Dividends received 
Transferred from associated companies to Other securities 
Divestments during the year 
Effect of currency translation 
Other adjustments 

Value adjustments at the end of the year 

Offset against amounts owed by subsidiaries 
at the beginning of the year 
Additions during the year 

At the end of the year 

Unrealised internal profi t at the beginning of the year 
Change for the year – charged to Income statement 
Change for the year – charged to Other comprehensive income 
Effect of currency translation 

At the end of the year 

Carrying amount at the end of the year 

Investments 
in subsidiaries 

Amounts 
owed by 
affi liates 

Investments 
in associated 
companies 

Other 
securities 
and 
investments 

2010 
Total 

2009
Total

8,201 
540 

8,741 

22,199 
11,974 
(2,417) 

(7,895) 

1,030 
(70) 

24,821 

102 
(102) 

0 

(13,459) 
(82) 
(348) 
(688) 

(14,577) 

18,985 

73 
26 
(11) 

88 

– 

– 

– 

– 

88 

616 
38 
(356) 
(164) 

134 

(464) 
1,132 
– 
(58) 
(8) 
96 
(808) 

15 

(95) 

488 
73 
(165) 
164 

560 

(356) 

(96) 

94 

9,378 
677 
(532) 
0 

9,523 

21,379 
13,106 
(2,417) 
(58) 
(7,903) 
0 
(808) 
1,030 
39 

9,340
53
(15)
–

9,378

15,186
10,708
(2,363)
(3)
(2,668)
–
–
478
41

(358) 

24,368 

21,379

– 

– 

102 
(102) 

0 

61
41

102

(13,459) 
(82) 
(348) 
(688) 

(13,274)
(230)
–
45

– 

39 

– 

(14,577) 

(13,459)

202 

19,314 

17,400

Carrying amount of investments in subsidiaries and associated companies does not include capitalised goodwill at the end of the year (DKK 58 million 
included in associated companies in 2009).

A list of companies in the Novo Nordisk Group is included in the Consolidated fi nancial statements, note 33, pp 90 – 91.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     107

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11   Non-current liabilities

14   Commitments and contingencies

Non-current liabilities due after more than fi ve years from the balance  sheet 
date amounts to DKK 359 million (DKK 407 million in 2009).

DKK million 

Commitments
Lease commitments 
Contractual obligations relating to 
investments in property, plant and equipment 
Guarantees given for subsidiaries 
Obligations related to research and 
development projects 
Other guarantees and commitments 

Lease commitments expiring 
within the following periods 
as from the balance sheet date
Within one year 
Between one and fi ve years 
After fi ve years 

Total lease commitments 

The lease costs for 2010 and 2009 were 
DKK 279 million and DKK 250 million, respectively.

Security for debt
Land, buildings and equipment etc. 
at carrying amount 

2010 

2009

865 

809

88 
1,601 

2,510 
3,518 

260
1,346

1,989
1,373

157 
402 
306 

865 

144
387
278

809

1,277 

1,196

For information on pending litigation and other contingencies, please refer 
to the Consolidated fi nancial statements, note 31, pp 87– 88.

15   Related party transactions

For information on transactions with related parties, please refer to the 
Consolidated fi nancial statements, note 32, p 89.

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12   Deferred income tax liabilities

DKK million 

2010 

2009

The deferred tax assets/liabilities are 
allocated to the various balance sheet 
items as follows:
Property, plant and equipment 
Indirect production costs 
Unrealised profi t on intra-Group sales 
Other 

Total income tax liabilities 

1,233 
956 
(1,780) 
(205) 

1,217
1,171
(1,587)
79

204 

880

The deferred income tax has been calculated using a tax rate of 25%.

For a specifi cation of deferred income tax posted directly in Other com-
prehensive income, please refer to the Consolidated fi nancial statements, 
note 9, p 70.

13   Other provisions

DKK million 

Non-current 
Current 

Total other provisions 

2010 

2009

401 
160 

561 

149
417

566

Provisions for pending litigations are recognised as other provisions. 
Furthermore, as part of normal business Novo Nordisk issues credit notes 
for expired goods. Consequently, a provision for future returns is made, 
based on historical statistical product returns.

108     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Statement by the Board of Directors and Executive Management on the Annual Report

Today, the Board of Directors and Executive Management approved the Annual Report of Novo Nordisk A/S for the year 2010.

The Consolidated fi nancial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting  
Standards Board (IASB), and with the International Financial Reporting Standards as endorsed by the EU. The Financial statements of the Parent company, 
Novo Nordisk A/S, are prepared in accordance with the Danish Financial Statements Act.

Further, the Consolidated fi nancial statements, the Financial statements of the Parent company and Management’s Review are prepared in accordance with 
additional Danish disclosure requirements for listed companies.

In our opinion, the Consolidated fi nancial statements and the Financial statements of the Parent company give a true and fair view of the fi nancial position 
at 31 December 2010, the results of the Group and Parent company operations and consolidated cash fl ows for the fi nancial year 2010. Furthermore, in our 
opinion, Management’s Review includes a true and fair account of the development in the operations and fi nancial circumstances, of the results for the year 
and of the fi nancial position of the Group and the Parent company as well as a description of the most signifi cant risks and elements of uncertainty facing 
the Group and the Parent company.

Novo Nordisk’s consolidated non-fi nancial statement have been prepared in accordance with the non-fi nancial reporting principles of materiality, inclusivity 
and responsiveness of AA1000APS(2008). They give a balanced and reasonable presentation of the organisation’s economic, environmental and social 
performance.

We recommend that the Annual Report be adopted at the Annual General Meeting.

Bagsværd, 1 February 2011

Executive Management 

Lars Rebien Sørensen 
President and CEO 

Jesper Brandgaard
CFO

Lise Kingo 

Kåre Schultz 

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen

Board of Directors 

Sten Scheibye 
Chairman 

Göran A Ando
Vice chairman

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Henrik Gürtler 

Ulrik Hjulmand-Lassen 

Pamela J Kirby

Anne Marie Kverneland 

Kurt Anker Nielsen 
Chairman of 
the Audit Committee

Søren Thuesen Pedersen

Hannu Ryöppönen 
Audit Committee member  

Stig Strøbæk 

Jørgen Wedel
Audit Committee member

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     109

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
t
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I

Independent Auditor’s Report on the Annual Report 
for 2010

To the Shareholders of Novo Nordisk A/S
We have audited the Annual Report of Novo Nordisk A/S for the fi nancial 
year 2010, pp 2– 92 and pp 102–109, which comprises Management  
Statement, Management’s review, Income Statement, Statement of Com-
prehensive Income, Balance Sheet, Statement of Changes in Equity and 
Notes including accounting policies for the Group as well as for the Parent 
Company and Consolidated Cash Flow Statement.

The Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International  
Accounting Standards Board, and International Financial Reporting 
Standards as endorsed by the EU. The Financial Statements of the Parent 
Company are prepared in accordance with the Danish Financial Statements 
Act. Moreover, the Annual Report is prepared in accordance with additional 
Danish disclosure requirements for listed companies.

Management’s Responsibility
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of 
the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Financial Statements of the 
Parent Company in accordance with the above legislation and accounting 
standards. This responsibility includes: designing, implementing and main-
taining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of 
Consolidated Financial Statements and Financial Statements of the Parent 
Company that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud 
or error.

The responsibility also includes selecting and applying appropriate 
 accounting policies; and making accounting estimates that are reasonable 
in the circumstances. Furthermore, Management is responsible for the 
preparation of a Management’s review that gives a true and fair account in 
accordance with Danish disclosure requirements for listed companies.

Auditor’s Responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Annual Report based on 
our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with International and 
Danish Auditing Standards. Those Standards require that we comply with 
ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable 
assurance that the Annual Report is free from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about 
the amounts and disclosures in the Annual Report. The procedures selected 
depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of 
material misstatement of the Annual Report, whether due to fraud or error. 
In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control 
relevant to the Entity’s preparation and fair presentation of Consolidated 
Financial Statements and Financial Statements of the Parent Company and 
to the preparation of a Management’s review that gives a true and fair 
account in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the 
circumstances. 

An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies 
used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by Manage-
ment, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the Annual Report. 
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is suffi cient and 
 appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Our audit has not resulted in any qualifi cation.

Opinion
In our opinion, the Annual Report gives a true and fair view of the fi nancial 
position at 31 December 2010 of the Group and of the results of the 
Group’s operations and consolidated cash fl ows for the fi nancial year 2010 
in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by 
the International Accounting Statements Board, and International Financial 
Reporting Standards as endorsed by the EU and additional Danish disclosure 
requirements for listed companies. Moreover, in our opinion the Annual 
Report gives a true and fair view of the fi nancial position at 31 December 
2010 of the Parent Company and of the results of the Parent Company’s 
operations for the fi nancial year 2010 in accordance with the Danish 
 Financial Statements Act and additional Danish disclosure requirements for 
listed companies. Furthermore, in our opinion the Management’s review 
gives a true and fair account in accordance with Danish disclosure require-
ments for listed companies.

Bagsværd, 1 February 2011

PricewaterhouseCoopers
Statsautoriseret Revisionsaktieselskab

Mogens Nørgaard Mogensen 
Danish State Authorised 
Public Accountant 

Lars Baungaard
Danish State Authorised
Public Accountant

110     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

 
 
Independent Assurance Report on the non-fi nancial 
reporting for 2010

To the Stakeholders of Novo Nordisk A/S
We have reviewed the non-fi nancial information in the Annual Report 
of Novo Nordisk A/S for the fi nancial year 2010, which comprises Manage-
ment’s Statement, Management’s Review, the non-fi nancial accounting 
policies and the consolidated non-fi nancial statement on pp 2– 56, 93 – 99 
and 109.

The assurance engagement has furthermore covered the nature and 
extent of Novo Nordisk A/S incorporation of the AA1000 AccountAbility 
Principles Standard (AA1000APS(2008)) principles (inclusivity, materiality 
and responsiveness) with respect to stakeholder dialogue.

Criteria for the preparation of reporting on data
The non-fi nancial information is prepared in accordance with the 
 accounting policies described on pp 94 – 96. 

Management’s responsibility 
Novo Nordisk A/S’ Management is responsible for preparing the non-
fi nancial information, including for establishing data collection and registra-
tion, internal control systems with a view to ensuring reliable reporting, 
specifying acceptable reporting criteria and choosing data to be collected 
for intended users of the report. Also, adherence to AA1000APS(2008) 
and the three principles of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness is the 
responsibility of Novo Nordisk A/S’ Management.

Assurance provider’s responsibility
Our responsibility is, on the basis of our work, to express a conclusion 
on the reliability of the non-fi nancial information in the report. Further-
more, our responsibility is, by applying the AA1000 Assurance Standard 
(AA1000AS(2008)), to express a conclusion on as well as to make recom-
mendations for the nature and extent of Novo Nordisk A/S’ adherence to 
the AA1000APS(2008) principles.

Our team of experts have competences in respect of assurance engage-
ments related to non-fi nancial information. In addition, our team have 
competences in assessing non-fi nancial information and sustainability 
 management, and thus qualify to conduct this independent assurance 
engagement. During 2010 we have not performed any tasks or services 
to Novo Nordisk A/S or other clients that would confl ict with our inde-
pendence, nor have we been responsible for the preparation of any 
part of the report; and therefore qualify as independent as defi ned by in 
AA1000AS(2008).

Scope, standards and criteria used
We have planned and performed our work in accordance with the Inter-
national Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000, ‘Assurance 
Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Informa-
tion’, to obtain limited assurance that the non-fi nancial information in 
the Annual Report is free of material misstatements and that the informa-
tion has been presented in accordance with the non-fi nancial accounting 
 policies. The assurance obtained is limited, as our work compared to that of 
an engagement with reasonable assurance has been limited to, principally, 
inquiries, interviews and analytical procedures related to registration and 
communication systems, data and underlying documentation.

Moreover, we have planned and performed our work based on the 
AA1000AS(2008), using the criteria in the AA1000APS(2008), to perform a 
Type 2 engagement and to obtain a moderate level of assurance regarding 
the nature and extent of Novo Nordisk A/S’ adherence to the principles of 
inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness.

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Methodology, approach, limitation and scope of work
Based on an assessment of materiality and risk, our work included: 
(i) Inquiries regarding procedures and methods to ensure that non-fi nancial 
reporting include data from the Group’s Business Unit operations, and 
that these data have been incorporated in compliance with the accounting 
policies. Through site visits to Bagsværd, Gentofte, Kalundborg and Montes 
Claros and based on requests and selected documentation, we have 
 furthermore assessed the existing systems for data collection and registra-
tion, and procedures to ensure reliable reporting;
(ii) Inquiries and interviews with members of Executive Management, staff 
from the sustainability development department, as well as Management 
representing different functions in the Group, regarding Novo Nordisk A/S’ 
adherence to the principles of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness, 
including Management’s commitment to the principles, the existence 
of systems and procedures to support adherence to the principles and the 
embedding of the principles at corporate level.

Conclusion
Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention which causes 
us not to believe that the non-fi nancial performance information presented 
in the Annual Report 2010 (on pp 2– 56, 93 – 99 and 109) is free of 
material misstatements and has been stated in accordance with the criteria 
mentioned. 

Furthermore, nothing has come to our attention causing us to believe that 
Novo Nordisk A/S does not adhere to the AA1000APS(2008) principles. 

Observations and recommendations
According to AA1000AS(2008), we are required to include observations 
and recommendations for improvements in relation to adherence to the 
AA1000APS(2008) principles: 

Regarding inclusivity
Novo Nordisk A/S’ Management has a strong commitment to inclusivity 
and stakeholder engagement. Also, the Company has in place systems and 
processes to ensure a continuous mapping of relevant stakeholders, as 
well as a structured and systematic approach to ensuring the inclusion of 
stakeholder concerns, demands and expectations at a corporate level.

We recommend that Novo Nordisk A/S continue to work on ensuring a 
systematic and structured approach to the AA1000APS(2008) principles at 
a local level.

Regarding materiality
Novo Nordisk A/S’ Management systematically takes the principle of mate-
riality into consideration when making decisions regarding sustainability 
at management level. Also, the Company has in place a number of relevant 
senior management level governance bodies to discuss, evaluate and 
 determine the materiality of sustainability issues on ongoing basis. 

We recommend that the process and criteria applied to assess materiality 
of non-fi nancial issues is formalised and documented to ensure a consistent 
process.

Regarding responsiveness
Novo Nordisk A/S is committed to being responsive to stakeholders as is 
 evident from the wide range of media, forums and communication chan-
nels used by Novo Nordisk A/S to communicate on sustainability issues. 

With respect to responsiveness we have no comments.

Bagsværd, 1 February, 2011

PricewaterhouseCoopers
Statsautoriseret Revisionsaktieselskab

Mogens Nørgaard Mogensen 
State Authorised Public 
Accountant 

Lars Baungaard
State Authorised Public
Accountant

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     111

 
 
 
Index

In addition to the information reported in this integrated annual report, we report information for specific stakeholder groups
at annualreport2010.novonordisk.com. To help you find information, this index is arranged with the categories used online. An 
explanation of where you can find information reported in accordance with voluntary reporting standards is also included below.

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Topic

Page(s) in this report

5, 9, 31–32, 38, 96
98
31–34, 37
97
97
19–20, 97

9-10, 15, 21, 93
6–9, 14, 58–61, 100–101
9–10, 15, 93, 97–99
4, 9–10, 15, 93, 99
12–15

Performance
Triple Bottom Line Performance
Financial performance
Social performance
Environmental performance
Long-term targets
Social
Access to health
Safety and quality
Support and advocacy
Clinical research
People 
Diversity
Talent and leadership development 19
34
NovoHealth
46–49, 69
Wages and benefi ts
97
Workplace statistics
10, 93, 98
Health and safety
10, 19, 98
Business ethics
98
Socioeconomics
39
Ethics in research
97
Animal welfare
–
Gene technology
18
Stem cell research
31
Human rights
10, 44, 93, 99
Supply chain
8, 14, 45, 58–61, 70, 77
Tax contribution
9, 32, 35, 38, 87, 89, 93, 96
Donations
–
Employee volunteering
Environmental
Environmental strategy
Limiting our footprint
Climate action
Product stewardship
Governance
Novo Nordisk Way
Corporate governance
Risk management
Stakeholders & reporting
Stakeholder engagement
Public affairs
Partnerships
Memberships
Awards and recognition
About our reporting
Integrated reporting
Audit and assurance
Online report archive

21, 31–35, 37–38
32–35, 37–38
21, 32, 34
–
–
62–66, 94–96
1, 94
42, 110–111
–

10
10, 99
10, 99
–

23
40–42
43–45

112     Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010

Global Reporting
Initiative Indicator

SO7

EN1, EN3, EN4, EN8, EN16, EN20–23

EC8
PR1–4

PR3
EC7, LA11–12
LA13
LA12
LA8
EC5, LA3–4, LA12

LA7
SO2–3, PR6–7
EC1, EC9

UN Global Compact 
Principle (P) and
Advanced Criteria (C)

C1
C7
C1, C7, C9–12
P8, C7, C9–12
C7

C3, C5, C6, C9–12

C5, C9–12
P10
P6

P6
P6
P3, P6

P6
P10, C13–16

HR1–9, SO5
EC6, HR1–2

P1–6, P10, C3, C9–12
P1–6, C4, C9–12, C13–16

EN13, EN30

EN5, EN7, EN18
EN26

C3

P8

P8, P9
P7–9

C5, C13–16
C2, C6
C1, C4, C7

SO5–6

P10, C3

C8

 
Our products

This report makes reference to European product trade names. The list below provides an overview of European trade names with 
accompanying generic names. Trade and generic names may differ in other markets.

Therapeutic area

Diabetes care

Modern insulins

Glucagon-Like Peptide-1

Human insulins

Diabetes devices

Oral antidiabetic agents

Biopharmaceuticals

Haemostasis

Human growth hormone

Hormone replacement therapy

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Trade name

Generic name

Levemir®

Insulin detemir

NovoRapid®

Insulin aspart

NovoMix® 30

Biphasic insulin aspart

NovoMix® 50

Biphasic insulin aspart

NovoMix® 70

Biphasic insulin aspart

Victoza®

Insulatard®

Actrapid®

Mixtard® 30

FlexPen®

Liraglutide

Insulin human

Insulin human

Insulin human

Prefilled insulin delivery system

NovoPen® 4

Durable insulin delivery system

NovoPen Echo®

Durable insulin delivery system

InnoLet®

NovoFine®

NovoTwist®

GlucaGen® 

NovoNorm®

PrandiMet®

Prefilled insulin delivery system

Needle

Needle

Glucagon

Repaglinide

Repaglinide/metformin

NovoSeven®

Norditropin®

Recombinant factor VIIa

Somatropin (rDNA origin)

Norditropin® FlexPro®

Prefilled multidose delivery system

NordiFlex™

Prefilled multidose delivery system

NordiFlex PenMate®

Automatic needle insertion accessory

NordiPen®

Prefilled multidose delivery system

NordiPenMate®

Prefilled multidose delivery system

NordiLet®

Activelle®

Estrofem® 

Novofem®

Vagifem®

Prefilled multidose delivery system

Estradiol/norethisterone acetate

Estradiol

Estradiol/norethisterone acetate

Estradiol hemihydrate

Market share data on pp 7 and 26–27 is from IMS Health, IMS MIDAS Customized Insights (November 2010). Market defi nition for retail: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, 
Canada, Czech, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, 
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and US. Market defi nition for hospitals: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech, 
Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and US.

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010     113

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“ I want to look

back on my life
and see that
I worked to
help people.”
Liu Hong-yu

Headquarters
Novo Nordisk A/S
Novo Allé
2880 Bagsværd
Denmark
Tel +45 4444 8888
webmaster@novonordisk.com

Transfer agents
Shareholders’ enquiries concerning 
dividend payments, transfer of
share certificates, consolidation of 
shareholder accounts and tracking
of lost shares should be addressed
to Novo Nordisk’s transfer agents:

Danske Bank
Holmens Kanal 2–12
1092 Copenhagen K
Denmark
Tel +45 3344 0000

In North America:
JP Morgan Chase & Co
PO Box 64504
St Paul, MN 55164-0504
USA
Tel +1 800 990 1135
Tel +1 651 453 2128

CVR number 24 25 67 90

novonordisk.com

Reaching for the stars
Liu Hong-yu, a Novo Nordisk scientist with diabetes, has always aimed high. 
As a child, he dreamed of being an astronaut and flying the 41.5 trillion 
kilometres to Alpha Centauri, the closest star to our solar system. Now, his 
aim is to cure chronic conditions.

As director of a newly established pilot project, Hong-yu, together with eight 
colleagues, is responsible for the process optimisation, scale up and production 
of proteins for preclinical testing. Departments within the research and 
development centre rely on his team’s work to test hypotheses, validate 
concepts and discover new targets. Though the search can be frustrating, with 
nearly nine out of 10 searches ending in failure, Hong-yu remains enthusiastic 
about finding new options to improve treatment.

An annual check-up in 2000 revealed Hong-yu had diabetes, which doctors 
initially believed was type 2. When oral medications proved ineffective, more 
blood work was done. The results showed that he had latent autoimmune 
diabetes in adults, a rare form of diabetes called type 1.5.

Hong-yu manages his diabetes with a combination of exercise, diet and insulin. 
The most difficult change has been reducing his time on the basketball court,
a precaution to avoid overexertion, which can impact blood glucose levels.

On the cover, Hong-yu is pictured with his son Centauri, named after the star 
Hong-yu dreamed of reaching as a child.