Hannah Boland
Sat, 30 December 2023
Ozempic diabetes drug pens
Novo Nordisk is poised to open a new AI research hub in the heart of London’s science and tech neighbourhood, as it seeks to build on its weight-loss drug success using British expertise.
The Danish drug maker is understood to have leased new office space in the Knowledge Quarter in King’s Cross, London, with plans to move into the site in early 2024.
Around 40 workers are expected to be based at the site initially, bringing together teams from Novo Nordisk’s existing research, development and IT divisions. It will see the company establish a new “digital innovation hub”.
A spokesman said the move would “enable innovation and collaboration to create and apply artificial intelligence in the discovery and development of new potential drug candidates”.
The area already houses offices from some of Britain’s leading technology and drugs companies, including AstraZeneca and Google, as well as being home to science centres such as the Francis Crick Institute and the Alan Turing Institute.
The spokesman added: “The Knowledge Quarter represents a vibrant and diverse AI research ecosystem, world-renowned for its focus to drive advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, data science and engineering.
“Having a presence here will allow Novo Nordisk to better collaborate with leading research institutions, big tech and innovative start-ups, and attract top talent.”
GSK last year announced a new global headquarters to be built in King's Cross - GSK
It comes as a sign of Britain’s leading role in helping to develop next-generation drugs, with more biotech businesses created in the UK than anywhere else in Europe. Companies including Oxford-based Exscientia have emerged as pioneers in using AI to speed up drug discovery. Exscientia is currently working on a pill to prevent Covid.
Exscientia chief Andrew Hopkins has said the technology means it can speed up the amount of time a drug spends in development from four years to 18 months and reduce the number of experiments by around 90pc.
Novo Nordisk is setting up the “digital innovation hub” as it plots its next generation of treatments, after enjoying a wave of demand for obesity drugs.
It is developing a pill version of its weight-loss drug Wegovy. It also recently suggested it was looking at ways to stop people from gaining weight in the first place, instead of only treating people when they are already overweight.
Novo Nordisk has seen its market value swell by more than 45pc since the start of the year, as investors race to get a piece of the weight-loss market which could be worth $90bn (£74bn) within the coming years.
In November, Novo Nordisk revealed a 31pc jump in operating profits for the first nine months of 2023, after huge demand for the obesity treatments.
Novo Nordisk has been battling to bolster supplies of Wegovy and Ozempic, a diabetes drug which is used off-label to treat against obesity.
It recently announced a £1.8bn deal to expand its manufacturing facilities in France.
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