Health
Mission: Progress research and innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases
Cardiometabolic and infectious diseases are major and growing global challenges associated with excess but preventable mortality. In addition, current medical practices often do not result in equitable health outcomes.
Supporting biomedical and clinical science with a particular focus on diabetes and its comorbidities has been part of the Novo Nordisk Foundation legacy for the last century. Building on this legacy, the Foundation will in the coming decade expand its scope and increase its support for research on the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases: obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and the consequences of this cluster of common and complex diseases.
Even though considerable progress has been made in the understanding and treatment outcomes of these conditions in recent years, there is still more to do to improve the patient-centricity and effectiveness of novel interventions. The Foundation will support new ways of understanding, diagnosing, preventing and treating these diseases in a translational network between basic and clinical scientists, involving a wide range of competencies, methodologies and technologies. The evolving discipline of precision medicine is one approach that holds great promise in promoting more safe and efficacious, equitable and cost-effective solutions for the individual and society. This will require collaboration across a broad range of stakeholders, including e.g. universities, the public health system, private sector and patients.
Inequity in health is a persisting global problem that exacerbates existing disease burdens, posing a threat not only to healthcare systems but also to the social cohesion of societies. In the years ahead, addressing inequity in health will be a cross-cutting theme for the Foundation in our support of health-promoting interventions. It is our ambition to fight inequity in health in Denmark as well as globally, where the focus will be on low- and middle-income countries. A growing ability to leverage data, drive technological disruption and connect with patients and consumers will spur research, development and implementation towards more prepared, evidence-based and equitable healthcare systems.
The rapid spread of Covid-19 across the globe has highlighted the consequences of insufficient preparedness for dealing with emerging new pathogens capable of causing significant morbidity and mortality. The risk of future pandemics is high and, at the same time, the looming crisis of antimicrobial resistance points to the pressing need for the development of novel antibiotics. The Foundation will seek to strengthen and deepen the analytical, technological and pharmacological armamentarium against viruses and bacteria, and work together with key stakeholders to support research and development within the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and to ensure that we are better prepared for tackling future epidemics.