Without a doubt, Novo Nordisk
is the dominant pharma force in the Nordic region. In 2012, Novo Nordisk became Scandinavia’s largest industrial group by market capitalisation, overtaking Norway-based Statoil. Novo Nordisk is a significant employer and investor in Scandinavia—both activities that, almost uniquely to Scandinavia, gain massive approval from the region’s patient groups. Novo’s impressive performance in the 2014 Corporate-Reputation survey reflects an awareness by Nordic patient groups that the company brings major financial contributions to the economics of the region. Novo Nordisk’s top corporate-reputation ranking is achieved even though the vast majority of the respondent Nordic patient groups state that they have never worked with the company. Novartis’ efforts at openness were acknowledged in a March 2015 report published by the Working Group of the multi-government-backed Nordic Trial Alliance (NTA). Novartis has also pleased the respondent Nordic patient groups by entering into a number of important biotechnology partnerships in the Nordic region (such as, in 2013, with Sweden-based Camurus). Lundbeck’s high overall 3rd-place position in 2014 in the Nordic league table of corporate reputation might have been higher still, were the company not continuing to suffer in 2014 from
the reputational ‘fall-out’ of the EU fine it received in 2013 for delaying the marketing of generic medicines, a flagging R&D pipeline, and by the resignation in November 2014 of its CEO.
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