History

The story of Novo Nordisk spans over 80 years. In the 1920s, two small Danish companies began producing insulin, which had just been discovered by Canadian scientists. Nordisk Insulin laboratorium was founded in 1923.

A year later, Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium was born, and began producing "Insulin Novo" and a special syringe. Over the decades, these two companies grew to be global leaders in insulin production and other areas. In January 1989, Novo and Nordisk decided to join forces; the new company was called Novo Nordisk A/S.