Novo Nordisk in Bagsværd - A town within a town
Bagsværd, north of Copenhagen, hosts the headquarters of the Novo Nordisk Group.
Approximately 4,000 people work at Novo Nordisk in Bagsværd, including around 850 in Production, 1,000 in Research and Development and 2,150 in Administration.
Headquarters, development and production
As well as the Novo Nordisk Group's headquarters, a number of activities related to pharmaceutical products are carried out in Bagsværd.
For example, insulin that is fermented and recovered at our factory in Kalundborg is purified, formulated, filled into glass cartridges and packed in Bagsværd. We also manufacture caps for sealing the insulin cartridges and print packaging for the finished products, and we manufacture hormone tablets for hormone replacement therapy.
Bagsværd also has pilot plants and laboratories for optimising our processes and developing new products. We work with fermentation and cell cultivation, recovery and formulation of insulin and other pharmaceutical proteins, and on chemical synthesis connected with the manufacture of oral antidiabetics for treating type 2 diabetes. Fermentation and cell cultivation are carried out using genetically modified microorganisms or animal cells.
Finally, we have a large range of other activities in Bagsværd such as purchasing, raw material and product stores, quality control laboratories, animal housing, maintenance workshops, administrative departments and corporate functions.
The importance of a good working environment
We continuously work to make Novo Nordisk an attractive workplace where employees have the best conditions to meet the exciting challenges they face every day.
For example, we carry out systematic workplace assessments to limit the number of occupational injuries and to improve working conditions. We involve all our employees in these assessments in order to make them as effective as possible.
One result is that, today, almost all departments have flexible working hours and many employees have the possibility of working from home.
Another result is the establishment of a leisure centre with a café, meeting rooms and sports and fitness facilities. All employees can use the centre by paying a small fee.
Focus on employee development
Most Novo Nordisk employees in Bagsværd create plans for their career development and training each year together with their managers.
As a result, a number of untraditional educational initiatives have been established in addition to more traditional initiatives such as educational courses inside and outside the company.
This includes job-rotations across two locations that help employees gain the best possible understanding of Novo Nordisk’s operations as a whole. Another example is the establishment of teams in Bagsværd. Such teams allow employees to work on projects from start to finish, which has brought about new challenges for many employees.
