Milestones

The Novo Nordisk history is full of firsts, in both diabetes care and biopharmaceuticals. In diabetes care, our firsts include:

• the first hospital dedicated exclusively to diabetes care
• the first long-acting insulin (NPH)
• the first insulin analog products
• the first purified insulin
• the first insulin pen delivery system
• the first meglitinide oral antidiabetic agent
• the first delivery system with a memory, and the first combined blood glucose monitoring and insulin dosing system
• the first insulin pen enhanced with a colorful design for children and teenagers
• and the first insulin analog approved for pump therapy.

We are also proud of being the first company to develop pituitary growth hormone (p-hGH), the first to develop biosynthetic human growth hormone (b-hGH) using recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology, and the first to sponsor a controlled study of daily subcutaneous growth hormone injections (versus intramuscular injections given three times a week).