UNLEASH

Novo Nordisk collaborates with UNLEASH to launch Global Innovation Lab in India

The collaboration will enable the development of emerging innovations for Sustainable Development Goal #3 – Good Health and Well-being – and will focus on non-communicable diseases (NCDs)

Bengaluru, September 6, 2022: Novo Nordisk in India*, a leading global healthcare company, has partnered with UNLEASH to establish a Global Innovation Lab in the country where UNLEASH will bring together 1,000 young leaders from around the world to collaborate, innovate and design ideas to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being, which is United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 3.

Through the Global Innovation Lab, UNLEASH and Novo Nordisk, in partnership with World Diabetes Foundation, will work together to tackle the critical and widespread health issue of non-communicable diseases (NCD). Rapid demographic and epidemiological transitions have caused NCDs to reach alarming proportions.1 In India, NCDs account for many deaths. The country is home to a staggering 74 million people living with diabetes, making it the country with the second highest number of people living with diabetes in the world after China.2

Challenges related to prevention, timely diagnosis and management of NCDs need to be addressed urgently by mobilizing the ideas of young people from around the world. The NCD innovation track has been developed in association with Novo Nordisk in India and the World Diabetes Foundation with this objective.

“Our partnership with UNLEASH and the World Diabetes Foundation demonstrates our commitment to achieving further breakthroughs in effectively managing non-communicable diseases including diabetes. The combination of Novo Nordisk’s expertise in diabetes and other therapy areas along with a highly skilled talent ecosystem, has the potential to accelerate our purpose to address India’s healthcare needs in a consistent and preventative manner.”, said Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director and Corporate Vice President, Novo Nordisk India.

Throughout the Innovation Lab, young talent will work in teams with close direction from experts, solving some of the fastest-growing health challenges of the 21st century. To develop sustainable and scalable models, these solutions will indeed accelerate our efforts toward achieving access to care, awareness, and the prevention of NCDs, particularly for the poor and vulnerable.

“Diabetes is one of the greatest and most intractable health challenges of our time. With UNLEASH taking place in India, I am extremely pleased and proud to partner with Novo Nordisk in India to put a spotlight on the burden of NCDs and diabetes in particular.”, said Chairman of UNLEASH, Professor Flemming Besenbacher.

About Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our purpose is to drive change to defeat diabetes and other serious chronic diseases such as obesity and rare blood and endocrine disorders. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs about 50,800 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. Novo Nordisk has been operational in India for more than 25 years. For more information, visit novonordisk.co.in, Facebook and Twitter.

*For this release, Novo Nordisk in India includes it’s India affiliate as well as Novo Nordisk Global Business Services both based in Bengaluru, India.


1. Barik, D., & Arokiasamy, P. (2016). Rising Health Expenditure Due to Non-Communicable Diseases in India: An Outlook. Frontiers in public health, 4, 268. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00268 accessed on 26 August 2022 2. IDF Atlas 2021 Available at: https://www.diabetesatlas.org/en/resources/ accessed on 26 August 2022