Health
Mission: Progress research and innovation in the prevention and management of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases, regenerative medicine, and equitable health outcomes
Cardiometabolic and infectious diseases are major and growing global challenges associated with excess but preventable mortality. The two morbidities interact, and this is exasperated by climate change. In addition, current medical practices often do not result in equitable health outcomes for people living with these diseases.
Supporting biomedical and clinical science with a particular focus on diabetes and its comorbidities has been part of the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s mission for the last century. Building on this legacy, the Foundation will in the coming decade expand its scope and increase its support for research concerning the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs): obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and the consequences of this cluster of common and complex diseases.
Even though considerable progress has been made in understanding the aetiology and treatment effects of these conditions in recent years, there is still more to do to improve patient-centricity and the effectiveness of novel interventions. For many of them, preventing them from developing in the first place is the best way of dealing with them. 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 an approach that holds great promise in promoting safer and more 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 people living with disease.
The rapid spread of Covid-19 across the globe 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 diagnostics, preventatives, and therapeutics.
The Foundation will seek to strengthen and deepen the analytical, technological, and pharmacological armamentarium against pathogens, and work together with key stakeholders to support research and development within the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases to help ensure we are better prepared for tackling future pandemics. In addition, there are important interactions between cardiometabolic and infectious diseases, both regarding susceptibility and severity, not least in the face of climate change and global warming, and thus an urgent need to address these issues from a scientific point of view.
Alongside cardiometabolic and infectious diseases, novel innovative medicines, treatments, and technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing are emerging. One such area with major advancements and a broad potential, ranging from disease understanding and cure for chronic conditions to drug development, is regenerative medicine: e.g. stem cell-based science and therapies. The Foundation will continue supporting this area to create a seamless and productive value chain from basic discoveries to clinical implementation.
Inequity in health is a persisting global problem that exacerbates existing disease burdens, posing a threat not only to individuals and healthcare systems, but also to the social cohesion of societies. Addressing inequity in health will be a cross-cutting theme for the Foundation in our support of health-promoting interventions and both intended and unintended consequences will be considered. Working to reduce inequities is multi-facetted and the Foundation will support both targeted interventions towards groups at risk and universal improvements.
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 the development of disruptive technologies and connect with patients and consumers will spur the development and implementation of more prepared, evidence-based, and equitable healthcare systems.