(Bloomberg) -- The world’s largest philanthropic fund that ultimately controls Novo Nordisk A/S will ramp up its investments outside of Denmark after cashing in on the weight-loss drug boom.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation’s assets have swelled with the success of diabetes and obesity treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, the Danish pharmaceutical firm’s blockbusters which have become a cultural phenomenon.
The valuation boost will see the foundation make “some big bets” in 2025 that could “change the world,” Chief Executive Officer Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen said in an interview in London.
The foundation has total assets of around €149 billion ($157 billion) and owns Novo Holdings, which in turn has a controlling stake in Novo Nordisk A/S as well as other life-science companies.
The fund first aims to map out which academic, hospital and research institutions are particularly strong in the US, Europe and possibly Southeast Asia, and could help it solve human and planetary health problems, Thomsen said. It also plans to open an additional office in the US and perhaps also Southeast Asia. The plans require board approval.
The potential US investment comes amid concern about president-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations, which include vaccine-skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.
Thomsen, who was previously Novo’s chief scientific officer, hopes work to promote innovative science and organizations such as Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health “are preserved” under the new administration.
Obesity Crisis
The wider international strategy will prioritize cardiometabolic health, including reductions in obesity and diabetes, said Thomsen. Increasing rates of cardiometabolic disease in Africa as well as countries like India are a particular concern.
While the immediate focus is on supporting efforts to create more resilient and nutritious crops, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic will also be needed in places like Africa and India, he said. “That’s only a question of time before they’re scaled up and become cheaper and cheaper,” said Thomsen.
Still, he doesn’t see GLP-1s as the sole solution to the global obesity crisis. Creating enough of those drugs to treat the more than 1 billion people globally who are estimated to be obese will be tough given the complex manufacturing process, Thomsen said.
--With assistance from Naomi Kresge.
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