Latest news with #NovoNordiskFoundation
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Denmark Aims to Host Most Powerful Quantum Computer
STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) — The Novo Nordisk Foundation and Denmark's state-owned credit fund said on July 17 they will invest in what they say will be the world's most powerful quantum computer, aiming to revolutionize areas such as drug discovery and materials science. Quantum computing holds the promise of carrying out calculations that would take today's systems millions of years and could unlock discoveries in medicine, chemistry and many other fields where near-infinite seas of possible combinations of molecules confound classical computers. The Novo Nordisk Foundation, the non-profit which controls pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, and Denmark's Export and Investment Fund, said in a statement they would invest €80 million ($92.93 million) in the initiative called QuNorth. Microsoft, which has its largest quantum lab in Denmark, will provide software and Atom Computing will build the quantum computer. The computer will be named Magne, inspired by Norse mythology where Magne, the son of Thor, is known for his immense strength. Construction will begin in autumn and the computer is expected to be ready by the end of next year. The quantum computer will start operating with 50 logical qubits, Jason Zander, Microsoft's executive vice president, told Reuters. A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the basic unit of information in a quantum computer and a logical qubit is a virtual qubit built from many physical qubits to reliably process quantum information. Last November, Microsoft and Atom created 24 logical qubits, the highest number ever created. 'When we get to about 50 logical qubits, that's when we start hitting true quantum advantage,' Zander said. 'I get to the point where I can run something on a quantum computer that I could not run on a classic computer.' 'When the machine gets up to 100 [logical qubits], we can start doing science problems, get up to a couple 100s, we can start doing some chemistry and starting to answer things, and then when all the way up to 1,000, now you are solving everything,' Zander said.
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Leadership change at Novo Nordisk
Agencies Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk named Maziar Mike Doustdar as its new chief executive on Tuesday, relying on an experienced company insider to revive sales and a share price hit by concerns that the Wegovy maker is falling behind in the weight-loss drug race it initiated. The appointment comes after the abrupt removal in May of CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen by Novo and the Novo Nordisk Foundation – the Danish company's controlling shareholder – and follows a growth warning earlier on Tuesday. Doustdar, who joined Novo in 1992, currently serves as vice president for international operations, a role he assumed after leading the company's businesses first in the Middle East and then in Southeast Asia, Novo said. The new chief executive's most urgent challenge, according to investors and analysts, is to revive Novo's performance in the U.S., the largest market by far for weight-loss drugs and where they are most profitable. Novo launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy nearly two and a half years before U.S. rival Eli Lilly's Zepbound. But Zepbound prescriptions surpassed those of Wegovy this year by more than 100,000 a week. The appointment comes at a challenging time for the global pharmaceutical industry as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs on imports and calls on drugmakers to lower their U.S. prescription prices. Jorgensen led Novo through a period of meteoric growth as it led the weight-loss drug boom, becoming Europe's most valuable listed company following the launch of Wegovy in 2021. At its peak in June 2024, Novo was worth as much as $615 billion. But Novo shares have plunged since then due to investors' concerns about the company's experimental drug pipeline and its ability to navigate challenges in the U.S. market, such as the threat to its sales from compounded copies of Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound. On Tuesday, the company also reduced its full-year sales and operating profit forecasts for the second time this year, causing its shares to decline as much as 17%.
Euractiv
2 days ago
- Business
- Euractiv
Danish quantum investment will boost EU biotech and medical research
The investment in a new, powerful quantum computing hub in Denmark aims to provide a significant boost to biotech and medical research in the Nordics, according to the CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation have announced plans to invest €80 million in a Level 2 quantum computer. Named after the Norse god Magni, the computer is expected to be operational by 2026–2027. Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, told Euractiv that the investment aims to provide a significant boost to biotech and medical research in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland. Computer power It is also a necessary step in generating an even more powerful computer: a level 3 quantum computer, which is expected to be ready for use by 2030 and will be a thousand times more powerful than a level 2 computer. 'Being squeezed from both the West and the East, from both the US and China, Europe is in a vulnerable position and falling behind, as the Draghi report shows. Therefore, we in Denmark would like to do our utmost to restore and strengthen our position in the Nordics.' Also, Morten Bødskov, Danish Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, stated that, 'With the investment in the world's strongest quantum computer, we are making a solid shift in the global quantum race." He added, "This will benefit all of Europe. We need to harness the untapped possibilities of quantum technology for Danish and European businesses, society, and security. Denmark and the EU must lead the race in developing new technologies.' EU-US collaboration Although primarily European, the Magne project will involve two American companies. The California-based Atom Computing will build and deliver quantum hardware for Magne, while Microsoft will integrate its Azure cloud platform software, tailored to Atom Computing's neutral atom technology . TheNovo Nordisk Foundation CEO said that all data input, such as individual health journals, will be stored in Denmark and shall not migrate outside its borders. 'No data is ever leaving Denmark,' he stated. At the same time, the next generation, the level 3 quantum computer, is planned to be fully based on European technology. Keeping research in Europe The investors are setting up a company called QuNorth to house the Magne computer in Copenhagen. Magne will be used alongside AI and hybrid computing; the latter could, for example, integrate public and private clouds or systems, or digital and analogue components of different sorts. The quantum computing hub in the Danish capital will, according to Thomsen, invite both public and private researchers to conduct advanced calculations to solve complex problems, such as those at the subatomic or molecular level, and study protein mechanisms in medical research. 'We would especially like to stimulate private and public partnerships and to keep innovation in Europe.' At the same time, 'unethical research' would probably not be allowed, but such a definition is not yet set. Empowering the Nordics Marie Arsenian-Henriksson, Vice President for Research at the renowned Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet (KI), told Euractiv that the new initiative creates 'very favourable conditions for researchers and industrial partners in the Nordics within health and life science,' adding that: 'The QuNorth initiative consolidates and further develops the Nordic region's position as a global leader in Quantum Life Science and helps us to translate advanced quantum technology into concrete societal benefits in the field of health." This is also the view of Juleen R. Zierath, an American professor at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery at KI, and affiliated with a research centre at the University of Copenhagen, financed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. She is not directly involved in the Magne project. Usually, she explained, it is very difficult for researchers to access such modern and powerful tools. 'The new quantum computing resources will be very important and open up opportunities to find new medical advances for Nordic researchers in the future. It will be a lift for the whole ecosystem of life science –natural science, tech science and medical science – in the Nordics,' she said. Not without caveats Even so, Juleen R. Zierath also pointed to the risk of trusting AI and quantum computing too much, as answers and solutions depend on what data a researcher puts into these systems. 'Researchers and students need to have a basic understanding of how to conduct science, and that one needs to put in the highest and most accurate level of information to get the best possible outputs.' Magne will be 100% Danish-owned, with EIFO and the Novo Nordisk Foundation each investing approximately €40 million in the establishment of QuNorth. QuNorth plans to build a small organisation of around 10 employees, whose primary task will be to ensure optimal utilisation of Magne across commercial and academic users in the Nordic region. The search for a CEO for the new company is set to start soon. [Edited by Vasiliki Angouridi, Brian Maguire]
ABC News
2 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Novo Nordisk names new CEO amid share price slump and concerns over Wegovy, Ozempic sales
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, known for its weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, has named Maziar Mike Doustdar as its new chief executive, relying on an experienced company insider to make up ground lost to market rivals. Mr Doustdar's appointment came on Tuesday after the abrupt removal in May of his predecessor Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen by Novo and the Novo Nordisk Foundation — the company's controlling shareholder. The new CEO joined Novo in 1992 and currently serves as vice-president for international operations, a role he took after leading the company's businesses first in the Middle East and then in South-East Asia, Novo said. His most urgent challenge, according to investors and analysts, is to revive Novo's performance in the United States, the largest market by far for weight-loss drugs and where they are most profitable. Novo launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy nearly two-and-a-half years before its US rival Eli Lilly's Zepbound. Zepbound prescriptions surpassed those of Wegovy this year by more than 100,000 a week. The appointment comes at a challenging time for the global pharmaceutical industry as US President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs on imports and calls on drug makers to lower their American prescription prices. Mr Jorgensen led Novo through a period of meteoric growth as it led the weight-loss drug boom, becoming Europe's most valuable listed company after the launch of Wegovy in 2021. At its peak in June 2024 Novo was worth as much as $US615 billion ($946.4b). Novo shares have plunged over the past 12 months, amid investor concerns about the company's experimental drug pipeline and its ability to navigate challenges in the US market, such as the threat to its sales from compounded copies of Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound. On Tuesday, Novo cut its full-year sales and operating profit forecasts for the second time this year, sending its shares down as much as 17 per cent. "The lowered sales outlook for 2025 is driven by lower growth expectations for the second half of 2025," the company said in a statement. "This is related to lower growth expectations for Wegovy in the US obesity market, lower growth expectations for Ozempic in the US GLP-1 diabetes market, as well as lower-than-expected penetration for Wegovy in select IO (International Operations) markets." Novo now expects 2025 sales growth of between eight and 14 per cent in local currencies, down from its previous forecast range of between 13 and 21 per cent. It also lowered its operating profit growth estimate to between 10 and 16 per cent, down from 16 to 24 per cent previously. Sales rose 18 per cent year-on-year in both the second quarter and the first half of the year, Novo said. Its operating profit increased by 40 per cent in the April-June quarter and by 29 per cent in the first half, the company added. Booming sales of Wegovy catapulted Novo to become Europe's most valuable listed company in 2024, peaking at about 615 billion euros ($1.09t), but the value has since fallen by more than half. The company is scheduled to release full second-quarter earnings on August 6. Reuters
Medscape
6 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Transoral Ultrasound Outperforms MRI in Cancer Detection
TOPLINE: A trial including 162 patients showed that surgeon-performed transoral/transcervical ultrasonography (USG) achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 86%, outperforming clinical examination and MRI (68% and 76%, respectively), in detecting oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). METHODOLOGY: This prospective, multicentre diagnostic clinical trial included 162 participants with suspected OPSCC (median age, 63 years; 35% women) in Denmark from 2023 to 2024. After clinical examination, participants underwent transoral and transcervical USG performed by surgeons, followed by blinded cross-sectional MRI evaluation. Transoral USG involves using small high-frequency ultrasound probes placed directly onto the oropharyngeal mucosa, which produce higher-resolution images than traditional cross-sectional imaging. Researchers compared accuracies of detecting OPSCC between clinical examination, USG, and MRI, with final histopathologic results and T staging being used as reference standards. TAKEAWAY: A total of 65% of participants were diagnosed with oropharyngeal tumours and 35% were diagnosed without those. USG achieved significantly higher overall accuracy (86%) than clinical examination (68%; odds ratio [OR], 0.31; 95% CI, 0.18-0.52) and MRI (76%; OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.28-0.82) in diagnosing OPSCC. Among patients without tumours, USG demonstrated superior specificity than clinical examination and MRI (79% vs 41% and 46%, respectively), while maintaining comparable sensitivity (90% vs 82% and 92%, respectively). Grouping of surgeons on the basis of their experience as 0-10, 10-20, and ≥ 20 cases yielded diagnostic accuracies of 80%, 79%, and 87%, respectively. Surgeons rated higher image quality in 45% vs 17% of OPSCC cases with transoral vs transcervical USG. IN PRACTICE: "Transoral ultrasonography was well tolerated and can be performed as an extension of the clinical examination to improve diagnostic evaluation and to inform biopsy procedures," the authors wrote. "Transoral ultrasonography may have a role in identifying early-stage OPSCCs and improving patient selection for transoral robotic surgery," they added. SOURCE: This study was led by Martin Garset-Zamani, MD, PhD, Copenhagen University Hospital-Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. It was published online on July 17, 2025, in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. LIMITATIONS: This study was conducted in tertiary centres with specialised head and neck surgeons experienced in USG, which may have limited generalisability. Considering inconclusive cases as positive may have led to overdiagnosis, especially in patients with asymmetric tonsils. Additional limitations included the absence of a true reference standard for T staging. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. One author reported having a patent pending for a 3D USG imaging device at Rigshospitalet. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
