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Former President Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at the Global Changing Diabetes Leadership Forum, taking place on 13 March 2007 in New York hosted by Novo Nordisk and supported by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

The Forum will be a provocative dialogue on redefining healthcare focusing on the needs of people with diabetes, and will involve politicians, government officials, international organisations, patient organisations, healthcare professionals and media from more than 18 countries.

“Diabetes will constitute the most significant public health challenge of the 21st century if no action is taken now. It is already causing as many deaths as HIV/AIDS. We need to explore practical ways of redefining healthcare, by focusing on the needs of people with diabetes,” says Lars Rebien Sørensen, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk.

The discussions at the Forum will explore the concepts described last year by Harvard Professor Michael E Porter and Professor Elizabeth Teisberg in their book Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results. Professor Elizabeth Teisberg will be attending the Global Changing Diabetes Forum and share her thoughts on the importance of focusing on the needs of patients over the full cycle of care – from prevention and diagnosis through recovery to long-term disease management.

The Global Changing Diabetes Leadership Forum is the most recent initiative taken by Novo Nordisk to call for a worldwide change in diabetes care.

“We can offer ourselves as partners and be catalysts for change for the benefit of people with diabetes across the world. However, the industry cannot fulfil this task alone and should not play the role of governments. Only by joining forces can we reach our objectives,” says Lars Rebien Sørensen.

In its efforts to call for a worldwide change in diabetes care, Novo Nordisk is also working actively to implement the recently adopted United Nations (UN) Resolution on diabetes by raising awareness among policy-makers.

Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company and a world leader in diabetes care. The company has the broadest diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced products within the area of insulin delivery systems. In addition, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as haemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services that make a significant difference to patients, the medical profession and society. With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs more than 23,000 employees in 79 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries. Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed on the stock exchanges in Copenhagen and London. Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘NVO’. For more information, visit novonordisk.com.

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