Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company and a world leader in diabetes care. The company has the broadest diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced products within the area of insulin delivery systems. In addition, Novo Nordisk has leading positions within areas such as haemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services that make a significant difference to patients, the medical profession and society. Novo Nordisk has a strong background in diabetes care, with more than 80 years' experience in this area. It began in 1922 when August Krogh, Danish Nobel-laureate in physiology, and his wife Marie, who had type 2 diabetes, visited the Canadian researchers Frederick Banting and Charles Best. Banting and Best had begun extracting insulin from the pancreas of cows the previous year. The Kroghs returned home and the following year August Krogh set up a company in Denmark called Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium (Nordic Insulin Laboratory) that began producing insulin for the treatment of diabetes. In 1925 the brothers Harald and Thorvald Pedersen formed their own insulin company, Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium (Novo Therapeutic Laboratory). In 1989, the two Danish companies joined forces to become Novo Nordisk A/S. With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 18,800 full-time employees in 69 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries. For further company information, visit novonordisk.com.