Newsbits

Healthy lifestyle? Look for D2 Magazine on the web

Novo Nordisk has launched an online magazine for people with type 2 diabetes. D2 Magazine is currently available in an international English version plus a number of other languages. D2 Magazine is designed to inspire readers to a healthy lifestyle – but without finger-wagging. It is also meant to increase dialogue with people with type 2 diabetes, so that Novo Nordisk can communicate core messages about, for example, the use of insulin and needles. The primary target group is people who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, who have internet access and are younger than 60. The magazine is divided into four main topic areas – 'Living with diabetes', 'Enjoying food', 'Keeping fit' and 'Around the world?' – that are edited and written by a team of external diabetes experts. 

Subscribers receive D2 Magazine via e-mail each month. The mail contains colours and graphics that set it apart from regular e-mails, and its contents can be customised to meet each subscriber's needs. The Danish site now has more than 2,500 subscribers and is growing by 8 to 30 subscribers monthly. D2 Magazine delivers good recipes, exercise tips and other ideas for a healthy lifestyle – also for people who do not have diabetes. You can find the international version on the internet at: www.d2magazine.com.
 

Diabetes epidemic
"Diabetes is projected to become one of the world's main disablers and killers within the next twenty-five years," says the World Health Organisation (WHO)

"A diabetes epidemic is under way. An estimated 30 million people worldwide had diabetes in 1985. By 1995, this number had shot up to 135 million. The latest WHO estimate (for the number of people with diabetes worldwide in 2000) is 177 million." 

"Immediate action is needed to stem the tide of diabetes and to introduce cost-effective treatment strategies to reverse this trend." 

These quotes are from a recently revised WHO fact sheet on diabetes. You can find the fact sheet including the WHO's revised diabetes preva­lence estimates at www.who.int/health_topics/diabetes_mellitus/en/.

 

	New educational tools Many people with diabetes are being inadequately treated due to fear of starting insulin therapy. At the annual Federation of Nurses in Diabetes (FEND) conference, an international group of nurse educators launched Hands on Insulin, an integrated system of offline and online tools aimed at helping people with diabetes understand the complicated nature of their condition and the science behind insulin. The system is called Hands on Insulin and is based on an original concept from Australian nurse educator Catharine McNamara. It has been developed with an unrestricted educational grant from Novo Nordisk. Hands on Insulin won a competition held by Novo Nordisk last year, which challenged the diabetes community to develop innovative educational programmes for people with diabetes. McNamara created Hands on Insulin as a fun, informative solution for educating people about diabetes and insulin, allowing the user to visualise the workings of the body's metabolism under normal circumstances, and to highlight how this changes with type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. The tool is designed to be used at a basic level or with increasing complexity as the user desires. Because of its simplicity, learning could be self-directed or aided by a health professional.  Hands on Insulin is an element of Novo Nordisk's START campaign (START insulin at the right time), launched last year, offering a variety of programmes and tools targeting physicians, nurses and people with diabetes to address the negative attitudes and misconceptions about insulin injection therapy. For more information see www.handsoninsulin.com

	DAWN sheds light on perceptions Diabetes is most effectively treated when patients, doctors and nurses work closely together, but these team members often have different perceptions about the dis­order and its treatment. That was a key conclusion of a study presented at the 29th annual meeting of the American Association of Diabetes Educators.  The study was part of DAWN (Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs), Novo Nordisk's global psychosocial diabetes survey. The study found, for example, that  patients rated their adherence to treatment higher than did their physicians or nurses.  And physicians appear to underestimate their patients' fear of low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia), which when severe can lead to coma or even death.  For more details on the study, see www.dawnstudy.com

Novo Nordisk rates highly on new sustainability indexes
Two stock indexes that rate companies based on their sustainability have awarded Novo Nordisk high marks. Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes has rated Novo Nordisk first in the Pharmaceuticals Industry Group. That is an improvement from 2001, when Bristol-Myers Squibb Co was number one.

Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes consists of more than 300 companies representing the top 10% of the leading sustainability companies in 59 industry groups in 33 countries.

Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Indexes, which measures European companies, has rated Novo Nordisk number four in its Healthcare Market Sector (the index does not have a pharmaceuticals category). Dow Jones STOXX rated Novozymes number one in the Healthcare sector.

See www.sustainability-indexes.com for more information on the indexes.
 

 

	Tax break in Singapore Novo Nordisk's Regional Office Far East (ROFE) will enjoy 5–10 years of tax concessions, thanks to an award from the Economic Development Board of Singapore. ROFE received the board's Headquarters Status Award, which offers benefits to foreign companies that locate their regional headquarters in Singapore. Novo Nordisk is one of nine foreign companies from a range of industries that received the award this year. The 2002 award-winning companies have pledged a total of 330 million US dollars in business spending and have created nearly 2,000 jobs in Singapore, demonstrating business confidence in the republic despite the overall economic slowdown over the last two years. In the picture, Philip Yeo of the Economic Development Board in Singapore presents Vice President Henrik Ekelund of Novo Nordisk's Regional Office Far East with the award.   Philip Yeo from the Economic Development Board in Singapore and Vice President Henrik Ekelund, Regional Office Far East.

 
Partnering against diabetes
The Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs – through its Danish International Development Assistance agency (DANIDA) – and the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) signed a memorandum of understanding to work together toward preventing diabetes and its long-term complications in developing countries. The signing took place in connection with the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September. The agreement will be implemented through programmes that will strengthen national health systems in target countries, especially in the primary care sector.

The two parties will aim to establish two projects by 2003 in the following countries: India, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania or Bhutan. 

The World Diabetes Foundation is one in a series of initiatives launched by Novo Nordisk that aim to help people in developing countries again access to diabetes care. 

For more information see www.worlddiabetesfoundation.org
 

Annual report awarded
Novo Nordisk received one top award and three honourable mentions at the Investor Relations Magazine Nordic Awards Ceremony.

The 2002 Nordic awards are based on interviews with approximately 250 fund managers and financial analysts in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Those surveyed were asked to rate the investor relations performances of various companies in key areas. Novo Nordisk won the Best Annual Report award for the Nordic Region. The report won because it is 'interesting and holistic', according to one of the investment professionals surveyed. Novo Nordisk also took first place in the category last year.

In addition, Novo Nordisk won honourable mention in the categories Grand Prix for Best Overall Investor Relations, Best Danish Company Investor Relations, and Best Investor Relations Officer at a Danish Company.

 
 

	Inhaled insulin project begins phase 3 Novo Nordisk and Aradigm Corporation announced in September the start of the phase 3 clinical programme for NN1998 – the AERx insulin Diabetes Management System (iDMS).  The first phase 3 study, in people with type 1 diabetes, is designed to show that the long-term safety and efficacy of inhaled human insulin is comparable to that of injections under the skin.  This 24-month study is a multi-centre, open-label study with patients receiving either inhaled insulin via the AERx system or injections of NovoRapid  (NovoLog in the US) three times daily before meals. Both groups are also receiving basal insulin once or twice daily.  The study will investigate the long-term effects of AERx on users' lungs. It will also study hypoglycaemic events, insulin antibody formation, glycaemic control (blood glucose profiles) and the overall satisfaction of people using the device. Clinical safety and efficacy data on the AERx iDMS system was presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting in September 2002. The press release containing these data, and other press releases distributed by Novo Nordisk at the EASD, can be found at www.novonordisk.com. All abstracts presented by Novo Nordisk at the conference can also be found at www.novonordisk.com/investors under 'Conferences and Abstracts'.

 

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