About Novo Holdings

Novo Holdings

Novo Holdings

We are a holding and investment company

Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company, responsible for managing the operating and financial assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Headquartered in Copenhagen and wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder in Novo Nordisk and Novozymes (the “Novo Group” companies) and manages an investment portfolio (the “Investment Portfolio”), with a long-term return perspective. The Novo Holdings Investment Portfolio is comprised of two teams, namely, Life Science Investments and Novo Capital Investors. We aspire to be a leading responsible investor, recognised for delivering strong financial returns and positive societal impact. Novo Holdings operates from offices in Copenhagen, London, Boston, San Francisco, Singapore and Shanghai. As of year-end 2021, Novo Holdings had total assets of $106 billion.

Novo Holdings is among the world’s leading life science investors and invests in companies at all stages of development. The Life Science Investments team includes Novo Seeds, Novo Ventures, Novo Growth and Principal Investments. In 2021 Life Science Investments invested $2.2 billion in 71 companies. The Novo Capital Investors team manages a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate and infrastructure assets, as well as private equity investments.

The overriding strategy of Novo Holdings is 1. to be a stable and supportive owner of the Novo Group, 2. to generate attractive long-term returns that allow us to both deliver an income to the Novo Nordisk Foundation and to grow the Investment Portfolio, 3. to allocate a significant portion of our funds to direct life science investing, where we can leverage our heritage and deep rooted insights, 4. to invest in specialist portfolio managers across the asset classes through Novo Capital Investors, and 5. to invest for positive societal impact.

The purpose of Novo Holding is one with that of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which is to Improve People’s Health and the Sustainability of Society and the Planet.

For more information, download our fact sheet.

Holdings Investments

We bring more than capital to life science companies in all stages of development

Kasim Kutay, CEO, Novo Holdings

Purpose
Improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet

Mission
Generate attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and be a supportive owner of the Novo Group companies

Aspiration
To be a leading responsible investor, recognized for delivering strong financial returns and positive societal impact

Purpose
Improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet

Mission
Generate attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and be a supportive owner of the Novo Group companies

Aspiration
To be a leading responsible investor, recognized for delivering strong financial returns and positive societal impact

Bioindustrials

The green transition

Together with the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings has embarked on a journey to make biotechnology a spearhead for the green transition of society. The ambition is to help remove the roadblocks wherever they are, so promising biologic discoveries can be translated into applicable solutions as quickly as possible. We follow this up with ongoing investments. While some of our new investments may have a longer trajectory, they not only generate strong financial returns, but also have a positive societal impact, all by harnessing the power of biology. We are committed to doing our part – all the way from lab to delivery of solutions.

Responsible Investments at Novo Holdings

We aspire to become catalysts of change by investing in companies that – like Novo Holdings – believe that there are achievable solutions to the pressing challenges facing both humankind and our planet. Read more.

Responsible Investments at Novo Holdings

We aspire to become catalysts of change by investing in companies that – like Novo Holdings – believe that there are achievable solutions to the pressing challenges facing both humankind and our planet. Read more.

How we do business

The Novo Holdings way

At Novo Holdings, we aspire to a set of values that define the way we work. Our values underpin the Novo Holdings culture of high performance with high responsibility and long-term thinking.

Performance
  • We strive to deliver outstanding long-term results
  • Vision, collaboration and diversity are key to our performance
Respect
  • We conduct ourselves with integrity and transparency
  • We build long-term relationships based on trust and respect
Responsibility
  • Sustainability is integral to our business
  • Learning is core to our organization

Leadership

  • Board of Directors

    The Board of Directors comprises six members each with a long and proven track record in investments or the life sciences.

  • Advisory Group

    The Novo Advisory Group is an expert panel that supports Novo Holdings in analysing the opportunities and risks associated with its larger investments.

  • Leadership team

    The leadership team of Novo Holdings comprises the CEO and the heads of the six departments.

Go to Leadership

History of Novo Holdings

In 1999, the Novo Nordisk Foundation established a wholly owned subsidiary, Novo A/S, to manage the Foundation’s assets. In 2017, Novo A/S changed its name to Novo Holdings A/S.

December 1999

Novo A/S established (now Novo Holdings A/S)

December 1999

Henrik Gürtler appointed CEO

December 2000

Novo Ventures established

December 2007

Novo Seeds established

January 2011

Principal Investments established

May 2014

Eivind Kolding appointed CEO

June 2016

Kasim Kutay appointed CEO

October 2017

Growth Equity established

February 2018

Novo Holdings launches the Repair Impact Fund to combat antimicrobial resistance

July 2018

Lars Rebien Sørensen becomes new Chairman of Novo Holdings

July 2020

Novo Holdings establishes new Asian life sciences investment platform in Singapore

News

Novo Holdings leads Series C financing of Kate Farms, the market leader in plant-based clinical nutrition

Read more

Novo Holdings leads US$50M investment in South Asia–based MedGenome

Read more

Novo Holdings portfolio company Bactolife receives new funding to advance lifesaving protein technology

Read more

Novo Holdings portfolio company BioPhero to be acquired by FMC

Read more

Novo Ventures Provides Business Update

Read more

Cinven and Novo Holdings to sell Envirotainer

Read more
More news

Key figures

Investments and transactions

  • € 13 bn

    currently invested in the life science sector.

  • 300+

    life science investments since 1999.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation

Striving to improve the health and welfare of people

The Novo Nordisk Foundation awards grants for research, humanitarian and social purposes. The history of the Foundation dates back to 1922, when Professor and Nobel Laureate August Krogh and his wife, Marie, took a trip to North America and succeeded in acquiring the necessary knowledge and permission to manufacture insulin in Scandinavia. In return, August Krogh promised that profit from the sale of insulin would be returned to society as support for scientific and humanitarian purposes.

The production of insulin marked the beginning of the development of world-class diabetes medicine and a subsequent Danish business and export venture. It also led to the establishment of several foundations that, many years later, merged into today’s Novo Nordisk Foundation. In 2021, the Foundation awarded a total of DKK 8.8 billion in grants, an increase from DKK 5.54 billion the previous year. Its payouts rose from DKK 4.6 billion in 2020 to DKK 4.8 billion in 2021.

Visit The Novo Nordisk Foundation

The Novo Nordisk Foundation

Striving to improve the health and welfare of people

The Novo Nordisk Foundation awards grants for research, humanitarian and social purposes. The history of the Foundation dates back to 1922, when Professor and Nobel Laureate August Krogh and his wife, Marie, took a trip to North America and succeeded in acquiring the necessary knowledge and permission to manufacture insulin in Scandinavia. In return, August Krogh promised that profit from the sale of insulin would be returned to society as support for scientific and humanitarian purposes.

The production of insulin marked the beginning of the development of world-class diabetes medicine and a subsequent Danish business and export venture. It also led to the establishment of several foundations that, many years later, merged into today’s Novo Nordisk Foundation. In 2021, the Foundation awarded a total of DKK 8.8 billion in grants, an increase from DKK 5.54 billion the previous year. Its payouts rose from DKK 4.6 billion in 2020 to DKK 4.8 billion in 2021.

Visit The Novo Nordisk Foundation

Contact

Our location

Novo Holdings A/S
Tuborg Havnevej 19
2900 Hellerup
Denmark
+45 3527 6500
CVR# 24257630

Novo Ventures (US) Inc.*
200 Clarendon Street, Floor 45
Boston, MA 02116
USA

Novo Ventures (US) Inc.*
501 2nd Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94107
USA
+1 (415) 552-6686

Novo Holdings Equity US Inc.*
501 2nd Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94107
USA
+1 (415) 552-6686

Novo Holdings Equity Asia Pte. Ltd.*
6 Battery Road #23-03
Singapore 049909
Singapore

Novo Holdings Equity US Inc.*
200 Clarendon Street, Floor 45
Boston, MA 02116
USA
+1 617 775 9836

Media Relations
Christian Mostrup Scheel
Senior Press Officer
cims@novo.dk
+45 3067 4805

*Novo Ventures (US) Inc., Novo Holdings Equity US Inc., comprising Novo Growth and Principal Investments, and Novo Holdings Equity Asia Pte. Ltd. are separate legal entities that provide certain consultancy services to Novo Holdings A/S, mainly within the areas of identifying, analysing and negotiating various investment opportunities among life science and biotech companies in the US as well as certain follow-up activities related thereto, such as board memberships, financial control and reporting efforts.